One Piece x Fairy Tail: The Void Cult
by Mr.Syllent
Summary: After being sucked into a strange black hole, the Straw Hats find themselves in a strange, new environment where everyone seems to be using some strange abilities and powers. They will need to team up with the members of Fairy Tail in order to overcome ne
1. Chapter 1

Fairy Tail x One Piece: The Void Cult

Prologue

The five mages were running down the tunnel. They could hear that the sound of someone's chanting was getting louder.

"We're getting close"-yelled Lucy. The girl had shoulder length, blonde hair tied in a ponytail on top of her head. She wore a white-blue skirt and a simple shirt in the same color combination. On her waist, a pack with golden keys was dangling.

„Good, "Natsu clenched his fist, „I'm getting fired up! " With his trademark pink hair, the young mage started running faster. He wore white pants, and a shirt with only one sleeve, so that the famed Fairy Tail insignia could be clearly visible on his shoulder.

„Calm down flame-brain, "Grey commented while trying to get in front of Natsu, "You know we could be running into a trap? ". Black haired Ice Mage was clearly trying to get to the brawl first.

"Grey is right, we can't just burst in swinging "Erza noted, her long scarlet hair running down her back while the plates in her armor were moving to provide her with more movability and produce less noise.

„Hay, we have to be careful about this "Happy was flying above the gang running down the hall.

The sound was getting very loud. In a few seconds they were in front of a large hole in the wall. When they looked inside they could see it was actually a large, circular cave with no visible bottom. In the middle they saw a constellation of Magic Circles that were flying all around a flat, round platform. On the platform were three hooded figures that were channeling their magic into the middle of the platform. The Magic Circles were slowly moving in a circular motion around the center of the platform.

"Oi, shitheads!" Natsu yelled without warning.

"You dumbass, why did you do that!?" Grey burst out and clenched his fist against his palm.

"That's Natsu for ya." Happy commented.

"Really, I still don't understand how you are all still alive" Charle gave everyone a smudge look. She looked at Happy just a few seconds longer than everyone else.

"Charle, be nice" Wendy tried to smooth things out, constantly bowing to the group, her long dark blue braids flying up and down.

"Well, I guess it's decided now"

Erza suddenly vanished in a ball of bright light, only to return a second later wearing a silver armor and holding two claymores. Above her head, countless more flew around her in a perfect circle.

"Let's go!" she shouted before jumping towards the platform. On the platform, three hooded figures stood and calmly watched as the Fairy Tail wizards were commencing their attack. One figure raised their arm and pointed towards Erza. The figure next to it, a bit smaller in size then the first one, jumped in the air. Erza noticed her immediately and decided to test their strength. She swung her sword at her, sending five blades flying. Two flew straight forward, one took a loop and charged from above, while the other two flew to the sides. The figure simply hovered in midair, seemingly bored.

"_Is he stupid, or does he have some kind f a trick_?" Erza tough while keeping her guard up.

She watched as the blades came closer. The figure stayed in one place.

"_Impossible, he can't dodge_!" Erza realized.

Blades connected to the hooded figure. A large explosion and a dust cloud filled the cave. Erza didn't believe it. "_No way, that attack connected_?"

The dust cloud was gone, and she saw the figure still floating in the same place. The only difference is that the figure was now holding a weapon. But it wasn't a weapon Erza ever saw before. It was a large pole, with a big curved blade that was sticking from both sides of the pole, resembling a half-moon. It held it behind its' back diagonally in order taunt the enemy into attacking. Erza knew it was a trap, but was amused by her opponent. The figure made a slight nod and a movement like it was smirking. Erza smiled herself.

"OK, no more poking then." She screamed and charged her enemy.

Below her, Natsu and Gray landed on the platform and were charging the other two figures. One of them continued to chant and pour magic into the, now clearly visible, purple orb. Lucy and Wendy were hovering above the duo, both carried by Happy and Charle.

"Erzas' attacked was so easily blocked?" Lucy noticed and shrugs a bit. "Natsu! Gray! Be careful! There is something wrong here."

"Don't worry Lucy!" Natsu yelled and smiled a bit, "I'm gonna give 'em a beating they won't forget!"

The first hooded figure stood in front of them. The right side of its robe was clearly budging. It stared at the two wizards running to it, and flexed its right arm. But it wasn't an arm. Wendy screamed a bit and covered her face with her hands. Lucy was stunned by the appearance in front of her.

"What is that thing…?"

The figures 'arm' was like something from a horror story. Huge, gruesome tentacle like body apparatus grew from the figures shoulder, which was also horribly mutated. On the end, three razor-like sharp claws were sticking out and clenched in a fist. But the worst part came when the claws separated. Huge, beast-like jaws appeared where the palm should be, with no seeming end to the number of curved teeth, going all the way inside. On the arm itself, numerous spikes were growing, and slowly trembling and going in and out. Natsu and Gray stopped in their tracks. The flame on Natsus hand went off.

"What are you?" he asked, his eyes widened in shock. The figure stared at them for a few seconds, while opening and closing its jaw like hand. Then it moved. He flew without warning towards them at an incredible speed. Natsu and Gray moved almost instinctively and barely dodged the forwards thrust with his right arm. As he flew in between the two, he grabbed Grays' face with his left hand, and smashed his right knee in Natsus' face. Natsu was thrown off and flew a couple of meters before slamming into the floor. The figure carried Gray for a second, and bashed his head into the floor at high speed.

"Guys!" Lucy screamed, and grabbed her keys from her pack on her waist. She swung the key and yelled "Open, Gate of the Lion! Leo!"

With a bright, yellow flash, a brown haired man in a black suit and glasses appeared and went straight to the hooded figure. "Don't worry Lucy, I'll take care of it, you just sit back."

He began charging his fist with yellow light.

"Lend me your power, Regulus!"

He was right above the figure when he swung his fist. "Oraaa!" he aimed for the head, with a lion-like aura of power surrounding his fist. The figure simply raised her left hand and caught the attack like it was nothing.

Leo smirked. "Got 'ya."

The figure raised her head just in time to see Natsu above him, his fist enveloped in a bright flame, "Don't forget to look down!"

Below the figure, Gray was crouching and collecting magic into his hands, forming a large broadsword made of ice. "Heh, you took us too lightly."

"Fire Dragon's…"

"Ice Make…"

, they both swung their spells at their enemy,

"Iron Fist!"

"Cold Excalibur!"

A huge explosion covered the platform. Natsu and Gray were thrown back by the shockwave. As they gained some footing again, they took a look at the damage. The platform now had a big hole at one end. Leo was able to fly away in time and was now flying to Natsu and Gray along with Lucy and Wendy.

"You guys still in one piece?"

"Yea, we're good" Natsu smiled. "Guess that takes care of that. I wonder what was with that arm…"

He stopped talking and looked to the center of the blast. The hooded figure was still standing, floating in the middle of the explosion, seemingly unfazed by their attack. He flexed his grotesque arm and slowly started floating to the gang.

"What the…?" Gray took his pose again, "There is no way he is unharmed. Natsu, we are gonna have to get serious now."

"I know, I know, don't tell me what to do, you strip freak." Natsu lowered himself a little. "Here he comes"

The figure rushed them again with their right arm, claws spread wide to inflict maximum damage to everyone standing there.

Natsu took a deep breath, "Fire Dragons Breath Attack!"

He spew fire at the figure, which suddenly stopped and landed while raising its arm. The jaws widened and Magic Circle appeared inside the jaws of the beast. It started sucking in Natsus breath attack.

"What the? No fair!" Natsu yelled and immediately started running forward.

The figure completely absorbed the attack, only to notice too late that Natsu is right in front of it.

"Eat this! Fire Dragons Iron Fist!"

He smashed his flaming fist into the figures chest area as hard as he could. The figure was thrown back a few meters, only to be hit again by his blows. Natsu buried his feet in the ground to deliver the final attack.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Fire Dragons…" Natsu immersed both of his hands in a dazzling, crimson light, "Crimson Flame!"

He swung his arms in a circle in front of him, sending a blast of red fire into his target. The figure started to raise his right arm, but something stopped it. He took a look down and saw that the arm was frozen and connected to the floor. Gray smiled as he was holding his hands on the floor, with ice flowing from him to the hooded figure. Natsus attack hit it. It flew past the figure, and rammed into the wall of the cave behind. The side of the wall was instantly drilled and from the place of impact everything slowly started to crack, and huge boulders started falling from the side of the walls. Erza and her enemy stopped in the middle of their blade swings and took a look up. The entire cave was collapsing. Rock and debris were falling towards the platform.

"PROTECT THE RITUAL!"

This scream came from the third figure that was busy keeping the ritual active.

Erza's enemy dashed downwards in order to provide protection, but Erza predicted this and cut him off. "You aren't going anywhere!"

She shouted and trusted her sword. The figure blocked the attack and was looking upset. On the platform, it was evident that Natsus attack did have some effect. The figures robe was torn in a lot of places. They could see a man with long, black hair, and a bandage over the right side of his face. They could even see the symbol on his neck. A purple mark portraying a skull with horns and sharp, vicious teeth.

Lucy remembered something. "You! You are the Dark Guild, The Void Cult, aren't you?"

The mage did not pay attention to them and was only focused on the falling debris and the position of the ritual. He jumped in the air and tried to aid the third person in keeping the ritual alive… But was suddenly interrupted by a barrage of flying ice spikes. Gray smirked as he was getting ready for another shot, but the figure looked down and made a raging face.

He raised his altered right arm and spoke.

"Devil Arts…"

Natsu suddenly had a bad feeling, "Not good, we should go"

"Eternal Damnation"

From inside the jaws of the arm, black and purple flames began to form. He aimed it towards Natsu and the rest. A blast of corrupted, dark energy shot out. Natsu knew they mustn't be hit by it.

"Damn it!" he shouted and immersed his body in flames.

"Fire Dragons Dazzling Flame!"

He struck the floor with his hands, destroying their footing. They fell through the hole, and avoided the attack from the dark mage. He shook his head and flew up. However it was already too late. One of the boulders hit the middle. Erza and her opponent were caught in a stalemate, and looked when they heard the blast. The ritual was disrupted. The third hooded figure was screaming something, but no one could hear the words. Natsu and the gang who were falling looked up and saw a hole opening in the air above the ritual center.

"What the…?"

They could see images of a world they never saw before. A world completely covered in water. The images swapped really fast so they could not distinguish nothing in particular.

"Ice Make Floor"

Gray yelled and created a bridge to the entrance that they took to get in there.

" Go!"

Everyone started running towards the exit.

Erza managed to shake off her opponent, who was now busy trying to protect what's left of the platform and the ritual. She was glad the fight was over. They were much stronger than anticipated that she was worried what would happen if the third figure joined the fight. While she was flying back, something caught her eye. There was someone falling down the cave. Someone who wasn't there before. A boy. A boy with a straw hat.

End of prologue (Fairy Tail side)

One Piece side…

"I knew we should not have listened to your dumb ideas, Luffy!" Nami screamed and kept on manically looking at the Log Pose and to the sky. Long, orange hair was tied in a ponytail going down her back. They were chased by five Marine battleships that were launching a barrage of cannonballs at their ship. Nami was giving her best to navigate the ship through this mayhem, while still giving glares at the person laughing carelessly.

"Shishishishishishi! Sorry Nami." Luffy smiled with his usual carefree expression on his face.

"I'll make it up to you!" He yelled. He was sitting on the top of the lion head that was on the bow of their precious ship, the Thousand Sunny. Short black haired was hidden in his precious straw hat, wearing an unbuttoned red shirt. A large X shaped scar was visible on his chest, a reminder to never forget that day and that war.

"The hell you will! What about the rest of us? You shitty Captain!"

A man with blonde hair in a suit and a very weird eyebrow that was curled in a spherical circle shouted at Luffy while trying to fend off the ship from a rain of cannonballs which were flying towards Thousand Sunny.

"Ch! What a nuisance." Sanji commented and jumped in the air. "Sky Walk"

He kicked the air casually and ran through the air freely. He got above the ship and started kicking the cannonballs away.

"Oi Luffy cover the left! I'll go in the back!" Zoro ran across the ship, putting his Wadatsume in his mouth.

"Santoryu…" he jumped and glared at the sea "Tatsumaki!"

The green haired swordsman slashed through the air with a circular motion and a huge wind slicing tornado appeared remaining behind the ship, providing protection from the oncoming cannonballs. A series of explosions began when the cannonballs ran into Zoros technique.

"Heh" he grinned with a sharp look in his eye.

The Straw Hats were being chased by five Marine battleships, and they we're not giving up. Vice-Admiral Momonga was really frustrated by the fact he spent over a month hiding in the bay of some God forsaken island in the New World, only to have his prey getting away again. The Vice-Admiral was bald, with pony tail going from the back of his head. He wore a blue stripped suit and a katana at his side, which he was now clenching to furiously.

"Are you really just gonna sit there?!" he screamed at the person sitting on the floor, leaned against the wall, and laughing loudly.

"Gahahaha, that's my grandson for ya! Gahahaha."

"You…!" Momonga grinned at him. "He is your responsibility in a way. Isn't he, Garp?"

Vice-Admiral from the Navy Headquarters, 'The Hero' Monkey D. Garp, stopped laughing and looked Momonga in the eyes.

"You know very well there is no way he's getting out of this, so just let me be" Garp looked to the floor and starter reminiscing.

"However," he clenched his trademark fist and bulged up a bit, "I will do anything in my power to take him in." Then he squint his eyes and in the end closed them. "Alive, that is…"

Momonga changed his facial expression to a softer one, but still remained firm. "Just don't do anything stupid Garp" he turned around and focused on the battle at hand, "or Sengoku will have my head for letting you run lose again"

Garp smiled a bit and opened his eyes again. He looked at the direction of the Straw Hats.

"You stupid grandson…"

Luffy was sending cannonballs back at the Navy battleships. One of the battleships took some serious damage and was starting to slow down.

"That one, Luffy?" Franky was standing at the end of the ship and flexing while looking at the battleships. His wide frame was looking impressive as always, robotic hands flexing and looking a bit excited.

"Yea, go wild Franky!" Luffy laughed and raised his hands and cheered him on.

"Superrr leave it to me!" Franky buried his feet and raised his hands in front of himself, forming a circle with his palms.

"Fraaanky…"

A bright light appeared between his hands and started charging,

"Radical Beam!"

The light reached its peak and blasted out from his palms and headed towards the already damaged battleship. It hit the side and blew half of the battleship clean off. The blast shockwave even caught the battleship that was to its right. Momonga barely managed to stay standing from the blast shockwave. He was watching one of his battleships sink, while his own was damaged in the process. But that didn't shock him as much as what they used to destroy one of their battleships.

"Those bastards," he said in surprised voice "they somehow managed to get their hands on one of the Pacifista's weapons, Kizarus' Laser!"

He could not comprehend where they stumbled on that piece of technology. Even he didn't know where Vegapunk's facility is. But he knew one thing.

"Cyborg Franky. He is the one who took the battleship down. I want all cannons focusing the…"

He was interrupted by the sound from inside his coat. Prprpr. Prprpr. Prprpr. He took out the Den Den Mushi.

"Yes, Vice Admiral Momonga here?"

"We have arrived at the designated area. What is your location, Vice Admiral Momonga?" The voice was rude and frustrated.

"We should be there in few moments"

"You better be"

Voice snapped at Momonga and cut off the transmission. Momonga aggressively stuffs the Den Den Mushi back into his coat and stares at the distance. He could see them clearly, even without the binoculars.

"_Guess this is the end of your journey, Straw Hat Luffy_" Momonga thought to himself.

He started to follow the movement of their ship, knowing that they have also noticed what was going in their direction.

Usopp was shaking like a branch and trying to report in. "L-L-L-Luffy!"

He finally muttered out.

"Yes Usopp? What do you see?"

Luffy yelled at his sniper, who was currently at the top of the mast, in the observatory. "We are doomed!" Usopp screamed from the top of his lungs. "Marine battleships ahead!"

"What?" Nami screamed and grabbed the binoculars.

Usopp was right. Four more battleships were approaching them at rapid speed. But that was not the worst part. Nami froze once she saw who was on board the battleships. On one side, Navy Admirals Kizaru and Fujitora were standing and calmly observed the Straw Hats ship. On the other side, five Navy Vice Admirals were also standing ready for battle. One of them was standing out.

Nami did not see him before, and they were chased by a lot of Navy officials. She also followed the newspaper every day, and tried to memorize as many faces as she could.

He was taller than the rest of the Vice Admirals, with short, white hair, and a pony tail that was going from the back of his head, across his shoulder and hanging over his chest. He had a tattoo on his neck, which seemed to go down his body. He was not armed with a sword, like the other Vice Admirals. His face was almost perfect, with a composed and almost dead expression. He seemed to be looking straight at Nami, which gave her the creeps.

But he was not the one she was worried about the most.

The figure in the middle was sitting in a large chair one legs resting on top of the other, smoking a cigar, and glaring at them with a face full of anger and hate. Fleet Admiral Akainu. The worst possible person to run into at a time like this. She realized in what trouble they are in.

"Luffy!" She screamed but it seemed that Luffy already knew.

He gazed at the direction of the approaching Navy battleships. His face full of boiling anger and resentment. Fists clenched hard and shaking.

"Luffy, get it together" Nami tried to get him to calm himself down. There is no way they could fight them all off. They needed a miracle for this one…

"Inteeereeestiiing." Navy Admiral Kizaru smirked and tilted his head a bit." It seems this is the end for them. Do you want me to just blast them to sky?"

Kizaru turned to Akainu with a slight smile. A very cold smile.

"Not yet. I want this done properly and quickly." He rose to his feet and started walking slowly to the railing. "We take them out," his hands started burning and turned into magma "all together."

Kizaru sighted, "Oh well then could you hurry it up? "

He looked into the Vice Admiral with the white hair.

"Hmmmmm, I do not know you. What is your name?"

The white haired Vice Admiral looked at Kizaru without changing his facial expression and answered,

"Ilumi, Admiral Kizaru Sir"

He then turned his head back and continued to observe the battle.

"Hmmm and why do I not know you?" Kizaru asked slowly.

"'Cause he has been recruited only a few days ago." Akainu answered Kizarus question.

"Hmmm, how so?" Kizaru asked again.

Akainu answered without turning around. "He was one of the possible choices for the position of Navy Admiral at the World Military Draft a while ago."

"Ohhhhhh?" Kizaru widened his eyes in surprise, gazing at Ilumi with interest.

"He was not picked out; instead we went with Fujitora and Ryokyogu. But his strength isn't that far from theirs. If he were to have been named Admiral," Akainu turned his head a bit towards Ilumi, "his name would have been Byako."

"Hmmmm, White Fox ey?" Kizaru started observing Vice Admiral Ilumi.

"Yes, and although he was not drafted as an Admiral, we still decided that he would be a valuable asset to the Marines." Akainu ended his explanation.

"Sir we are getting in range of the Straw Hats ship." A marine officer reported in to Akainu,

"Good, prepare to commence the attack, Kizaru, get ready, I want you and Ilumi there as soon as we open fire on them."

"I understand, but I do have a question. How is he going to follow me there? You know, I am quite hard to catch up to." Kizaru ended with a smile.

Akainu just smirked.

"Don't you worry about that, Kizaru; he may be slower than you, but only by one level."

Kizaru opened his eyes a bit wider out of curiosity, but still kept on smiling.

"Luffy we need a plan, now!" Sanji yelled to his Captain, with a worried look on his face.

"We can't be handling this many monsters at once…"

"We are gonna die!" Chopper was running in circles and screaming from the top of his lungs.

"We are gonna die! Oh, but wait I am already dead. Yohohohhohoho!" Brook made another bad skull joke, only to be hit over the head by Nami.

"This isn't the time for you idiots to panic, or making jokes!"

On the other side, Robin was thinking over the situation.

"We might really lose this time" She said calmly.

"Don't say those things with such a serious face!" Usopp screamed from the observatory.

"Franky!" Luffy called to his shipwright, "Can't we just use Coup'd Burst and get out of here?"

"No can do Capt'n!" Franky answered," We are low on Cola, and I don't think we have the time to replace it!"

"Damn it" Nami hit the table with her hand. "We really need a miracle for this one…"

She couldn't finish her sentence because something caught her attention.

"T_he wind direction is…_?"

She looked at the sky and the sea, but it just didn't fit. "_No way, it doesn't make any sense, the air pressure didn't change, yet the wind did_?"

She carefully scanned the area. Then she saw it. A distortion appeared above the water, just between their ship and the Navy. Something was happening, but she could not clearly see what. Then it was gone. Even the wind shifted back to normal. Nami already though that she was starting to imagine things, when it happened.

In a split second, a huge hole appeared in front of their ship. It was pitch black, with a purple flame on the edges. She couldn't even scream to Franky or Chopper to change direction. The force was too great. They were being pulled in. And they were not the only ones.

"What the hell is happening!?"

Akainu was enraged and surprised at the same time. Some kind of a hole opened up in front of their battleships, only to cut them off from the Straw Hats. He burst in his anger,

"Kizaru, Byako! Go! Kill the Straw Hats!" Kizaru smiled again. "Yeeeees"

Ilumi simply stepped forward and said

"Yes, Sir. Consider it done."

He took a stance and pointed himself to their ship. Kizaru was intrigued, so he decided to let him go first. Ilumi suddenly started to vibrate and emit a humming.

"Sonic Run"

With a loud blast, he blew away the boards in the floor where he was standing, and was gone. Kizaru was shocked as he could not follow him with his eyes. Instead he looked at Akainu with a puzzled look on his face. Akainu answered his unspoken question.

"Devil Fruit. Paramecia. Sound Sound Fruit. He's a Soundman. He can move at the speed of sound and channel sound and sound vibrations into his attacks. In a way, although on a much weaker level," he made a face full of despise and disgust, "it is similar to Whitebeards power."

Kizaru was obviously impressed. "Not baaaaaad for Paramecia"

"Stupidity"

Kizaru glanced at the second Admiral on board, Fujitora.

"It doesn't matter what kind of power he possesses," Fujitora began explaining, "it is how he uses it, isn't that right Admiral Kizaru?"

"Heh, now why would you say that, Admiral Fujitora?" Kizaru asked while preparing to leave, condensing light in his palms. "Yata no Kagami"

The light began emitting from his palms and bouncing off in midair and was headed to the Straw Hats ship.

"Because, Admiral Kizaru," Fujitora slowly spoke, "you must be stupid to rely only on your Devil Fruit ability. Especially, since we have confirmation that the members of the Straw Hat Pirates are able to use Haki to a very good extent. Also, overconfidence has cost a lot of good men their lives."

Kizaru just laughed it off as he disappeared into the light.

Ilumi landed right next to Luffy. Before anyone managed to react, he pressed his palm against Luffys' chest.

"Beat Blast"

A powerful shockwave coursed through Luffy's body and blasted him into the main mast. He slammed into it and screamed from the pain.

"How did you hurt me? I'm... rubber… 'Cough'…"

White haired Navy Vice Admiral answered in a monotonous tone

"Your rubber body cannot protect you from my vibrations"

He then rushed Luffy again. This time he was ready. He dashed forward while stretching his arm back.

"Gomu Gomu no…"

He went low, and managed to get under Ilumis' attack and close to his abdominal area,

"Bullet!"

His fist was only inches from connecting, when his opponent disappeared. His arm flew into empty space, and as he was pulling it back, he realized that Ilumi was standing on the other side of the ship, behind Franky's back.

"Franky!"

He shouted trying to warn him, but it was too late. Ilumi pressed his palm against Franky's back.

"What is…"Franky started to turn around.

"Beat Blast"

"Guaaah!" Franky yelled as he was knocked several feet away, and smashed into the railings.

"Oi, get your ass back here!" Luffy charged at his opponent.

"Too slow…"

"Huh?"

He was hit by a bright light right in the face, and was sent flying with incredible speed and force.

"Luffy!"

Everyone screamed, but luckily, huge arms popped from the side of the ship and just barely managed to keep Luffy on board. Robin sighted and relaxed

"Thank God. I though we lost you, Captain."

But there was another problem. Kizarus has landed on the ship, and they were being sucked into some kind of a black whirlpool.

"Hmmmm, guess I'll have to take care of you all reallyyyy fast and be on my way."

Kizaru was looking around, trying to decide who to kill first. He noticed a person he remembered very well.

"'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro"

He disappeared into the light and almost instantly appeared at Zoros side. His leg started glowing, and he swung at Zoro. Clang! Kizaru was really surprised by what just happened.

"Hmmm, there are not many people who can stop this attack, Roronoa Zoro."

He commented while looking at Zoro, who has stopped his attack with his three swords. He glared at Kizaru with a beastly look in his eye, almost a hungry expression on his face.

"Scaaaary." Kizaru commented.

But then everything stopped. The whirlpool suddenly exploded. A lot of smaller holes began opening all around them, and they were being pulled in. Kizaru immediately started to move, but the pull was too strong. He couldn't believe what was happening. He saw that the battleship Akainu and the rest were on was also caught up in the mess. The ship flew up in the air heading to the largest hole. The Navy battleship also began rising from the water. Straw Hats flew in different directions, Ilumi and Kizaru with them.

"Luffy! What is going on?" Usopp was screaming while trying to hold onto the ship.

"Usopp!" Luffy called, but he was suddenly swept off and gone.

"USOPP!" Luffy screamed and was forced to watch his crewmates once again fly away from him.

"Don't worry Luffy!" He looked at the source of the voice. He saw Nami desperately holding on to the main mast. "We will gather up at the other side of…. Where ever we are going."

"What?" Luffy looked at the holes and finally notice. There was another world out there. They could see images. Large mountain passes, rivers, towns, and a huge palace. Luffy suddenly felt excited.

"Awesomeee." He looked at Nami again,

"Nami, meet you on the other side, OK?"

"Sure! "

"Not if I can help it"

Kizaru was maybe flying away, but it did not mean he was out of tricks.

"Yasakani no Magatama"

A rain of light shoot out from two Kizarus hands, now shining brightly.

"Luffy, watch out!" Nami cried.

"Huh?"

A huge explosion happened as soon as Kizarus attack hit Luffy, and it continued as the light was still striking at him.

"Luffy!" Nami cried again only to see him fall down into one of the holes.

He disappeared from sight at the same time Kizaru did. Nami could only let herself go and wait till they land in some unfamiliar land, only to be fighting the Navy again. But then again, they were saved for the time being. As she was passing through the hole, her consciousness was slowly fading away…

End of prologue


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1: Where fairies live

Luffy began to wake up. He could hear noises and people talking, but could not recognize anyone's voice or what they were talking about.

"_Fairies…_?" He tough to himself, trying to open his eyes. Finally he managed to take a look at the room he was in and the people around him.

"Huh? He's awake" The girl with blonde hair noticed.

The rest of the crowd gathered around Luffys bed. He got up a bit and took a good look at the people around him. Besides the girl, there was a small girl with dark blue hair. Aside from her, a woman with red hair stood, wearing a suit of armor and gave out an impression like she was in charge. There was also a guy without a shirt on, black hair and a large tattoo on his chest. He noticed that they all had the same tattoo. Were they a pirate group? A voice came from nowhere.

"Good to see you up on your feet, boy"

Luffy searched for the source of the voice, but could not see it.

"What's your name, boy?"

"Oh. I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's gonna be the Pirate King." He answered without a second pause. Everyone glanced the word pirate. "Anyway, who's talking? And where am I?"

Luffy looked around the room again.

"Down here" The voice answered.

Luffy took a look at the side of the bed. Beside it was standing a small, old man with large, thick mustaches. He was mostly bald with hair growing on the sides of his head. He looked at Luffy with a curious look, and maybe a bit suspicious one.

"Pirate King, ey? Sounds like some title. Never heard about it though"

Luffy was puzzled for a few seconds, and then remembered how he got there.

"Eeeeeh! The Navy! Guys! Where are you?"

He started screaming suddenly and jumped out from the bed.

"Oi, wait a second"

Gray yelled at him and tried to grab his hand. To everyone's surprise, the strange boy kept on running towards the door, with his hand stretching behind him where Gray grabbed him.

"Whaaaaa?!" Gray jumped in surprise and let go of Luffys hand.

It charged back to Luffy, and slammed in him with some force, sending him flying through the doors. He was blasted in the dining hall. He got up only to see everyone looking at him with a curious look. Luffy took a look around the room, when his stomach started to growl.

"Meat!" he yelled and started munching on the food that was on the table.

Everyone looked at him in surprise, when they noticed Master and the rest coming out from the recovery room.

"Well, well. Looks like the poor boy was just hungry. Mira" he called to the white haired girl that was standing at the bar, "Give him some food till he's full. Then we'll talk."

"Got it, Master" She went into the back room, still looking at the newcomer with interest.

"But that was really weird back then, boy" Master talked" I've never seen that magic before"

"Magic?" Luffy answered with his mouth full, "That wasn't magic, old man, and I ate a Devil Fruit. I'm a rubber man."

"Devil Fruit?" Erza interrupted. "Master, when we fought the Void Cult, there was a guy who used some kind of a demonic magic. Maybe he is one of them"

"One of what?" Luffy asked, thou his only focus was on stuffing his face.

"One of the Void Cult. A Dark Guild." Erza answered, carefully watching his reaction.

It never came. Luffy was simply stuffing his face, not really listening to anyone. Everyone waited for a few more moments. Then a voice came from behind Luffy.

"Oi, brat. Answer the question!"

A tall figure, with blonde spike like hair was walking slowly towards Luffy. He was glaring at Luffy with an irritated look. Luffy turned around a bit to look at the person.

"Hi, I'm Luffy. The man who will be Pirate King. Who are you?"

"Pirate? Oi, old man, you really are getting senile" he glared at the small figure left of him. "When did we start taking in criminals?"

Makarov simply glanced at his grandson, Laxus and smiled.

"We will take anyone in who needs help" he smiled a bit more, but with and innocent look, "Isn't that why we took you back in?"

Laxus's face shrug. He was clearly irritated by that comment.

"Still there's the question of how did he end up in that cave in the first place. I thought that's where some kind of demonic ritual was being conducted?" He looked at Erza like it was her fault.

"Well, I suppose it is a valid question" Makarov agreed "So boy, how did you end up here?"

"I fell through a hole in the air" Luffy answered and continued to munch on everything in front of him.

"A hole in the air?" Laxus was starting to get really angry, "What kind of nonsense is this?"

"No, he is telling the truth" Lucy suddenly spoke. Everyone looked at her direction. "When the ritual was interrupted, we could see through the portals that were forming around us that they led to another world of some kind"

"Hmm, you mean like Edolas?" Makarov nodded his head.

"I'm not sure, but he definitely is not from around here. I mean, does anyone sense any magic power coming from him?"

Everyone looked at each other with surprise and started to whisper to one another. Laxus came closer to Luffy and examined him more. He then smiled and started to walk away.

"Damn, she's right, not a drop. In this world, every living person has magic within themselves, even the commoners. This brat is completely dry." He laughed for a second and added "I wonder how you plan on becoming a king of anything without any power at all"

"Oh, I could beat you up no problem" Laxus froze. He turned around to inspect the small figure that dared to declare such a thing.

"You must be insane brat" He started walking back to Luffy.

"Oi, Laxus. Calm down." Makarov was suddenly serious. "You are not allowed to attack him"

"I'm not gonna attack him" Laxus went really close to Luffy who was still eating, "Are you ready to back those words up, ey?" Luffy once again ignored Laxus. He became raged and grabbed the only thing he could find in order to piss him off. A straw hat. As soon as he laid his hand on it, the atmosphere changed. Luffy stopped eating and spoke

"Oi" He glared at Laxus with a fierce look, "Put it down"

Laxus was thrilled. He managed to get his gears working. He took the hat and started walking towards the exit.

"You want it, come get it" He laughed and left the room. Luffy got up and glared at where Laxus was last seen.

"Sheesh, I'm so sorry about my grandson. He's a good persons, it's just that he is a bit…"

"A jerk"

Another voice came from the back. A boy, similar to Luffys age, with pink hair and a blue cat on his head appeared. He seemed amused by the situation.

"Don't worry. I'll get that hat back for ya. Is this okay, Gramps?" Makarov looked at Natsu with an exhausted look and just sighted,

"Like my approval means anything to you. Fine, just don't destroy anything this time."

"Good, I'm getting fired up." He started walking to the door, but was stopped by Luffys words.

"No need, I'll get it myself" Everyone looked at Luffy in shock.

"Yea I believe you are strong in your own world, but it is a bit different here. We're all Mages. And Laxus is a tough one." Natsu explained, and put his hand on Luffys shoulder, "But I'm tougher" He smiled.

"Ay, Sir!" Happy added.

"Eeeeh? The cat spoke? Awesomeee" Luffy was surprised, his eyes resembling stars.

"Yea, this is Happy. See, I told you things are a lot different from your world."

"Oh it's not so different. I have a talking reindeer."

"Whaaat?" everyone in the room started laughing.

"You sure are funny, Luffy" Natsu commented and went outside.

Luffy followed him. Laxus was standing about twenty meters from the entrance. He was playing with the straw hat, and was irritated to see Natsu coming at him.

"You again?"

"Give that back. It's …"

He was interrupted by Luffy who walked past him and stood in front of Laxus. He looked at him and spoke without pardon;

"Give it back"

Laxus was enraged and started clenching his fist. "Why don't you try and take it?"

"Oi, old man!" Luffy called to Makarov, "He's your grandson, right?"

"Y-yes he is." Makarov muttered, not sure what is going to happen next.

"Is it okay if I beat him up?" Laxus broke

"You little shit-!"

He instinctively hit Luffy in the face with his right. Thunder crackled from the point of impact, and Luffy flew and hit the rock-solid wall of the guild headquarters.

"Laxus!" Makarov yelled "You idiot! He is a normal person. You killed him"

"He wanted to play with the big leagues, he got it coming. Plus, he's not dead. I didn't hit him that hard. But he won't be walking for a while, heh" he smirked in the end.

"Give it back"

He stopped and turned around. He couldn't believe his eyes. Luffy was standing in front of him again, without a scratch on himself.

"How the…? How are you unharmed?"

"Oh that was an attack?"

"Arrrrgh!"

Laxus disappeared and rematerialized behind Luffy. His right hand fully charged with electricity. He couldn't stand the fact that this little skinny brat was making him look like a complete idiot.

"Thor Hammer!"

He slammed Luffy in the ground. A crater formed and a dust cloud covered everything. Laxus looked in the center of the crater, only to be shocked again. Luffy simply stood up again, and was walking towards Laxus.

"Awesome, you are really fast" He seemed uninterested in a way, "So this is Magic eh? Doesn't look much different from Enels' power…"

Laxus one again appeared disappeared and rematerialized above Luffy.

"Thunder Dragons…" The thunder coming from his hands was much larger and more powerful than the last one.

"Charged Claw!"

He slammed Luffy, but this time Luffy managed to turn around and block the attack. The floor broke below him, but he didn't move and inch. Laxus jumped back and glared at Luffy.

"Not possible. I understand that he may be unharmed from the hit itself, but no way can that he withstand that electrical surge."

"Oh, electricity doesn't work on me" he stretched his face way more than it should be humanly possible. "I'm rubber"

"What? Rubber? Are you kidding me? What kind of a power is that?"

Everyone was shocked. That little guy was making a mockery of Laxus.

"So is it my turn yet?" Luffy got in stance.

"Gomu Gomu no…" He stretched his hand behind his back. Laxus just smiled,

"That's not gonna hit me, brat"

Laxus shifted to the side with lightning speed…

"Pistol"

He was struck in mid-flight right in the jaw by a hand that came out of nowhere. Laxus spew blood as he thought,

"_No way how did he know where I'm gonna go…_" Laxus slammed into the wall and fell to the ground. He got up and glared at Luffy.

"Now, give it back" Luffy said clearly. Laxus laughed at him.

"You think this is over? Wrong, you little shit"

Laxus summoned a Magic Circle and drew from it a thunder-like sword. It kept zapping and crackling as Laxus moved it. He suddenly had an ominous look in his eyes

"So thunder won't work, and punches won't work. Guess I'll have to try this."

He disappeared. This time he didn't appear right away. A lightning bolt was moving in all directions around Luffy, at incredible speed. Luffy did not follow it with his eyes. Instead he just stood there. Natsu was on the edge,

"Laxus is losing, but this is really dangerous. Oi Gramps! Is this really okay? He might really kill him" Makarov was slowly coming forward.

"Not on my watch" He was brimming with power and his arm glowing faintly. Natsu backed up a bit. He certainly did not wish to be hit by the old mans' Titan…

Laxus was circling trying to find an opening. He decided to try a frontal attack, knowing that he would not be expecting that. He appeared in front of Luffy a split second, and swung the sword from the side. Luffy immediately crouched, and dodged the attack. Laxus did not pause, and continued the motion of the sword downwards in the middle of the swing. Luffy reacted fast, and bounced back up, while swaying a bit to the left, and evading the second slash. Laxus's' sword hit the ground and left a perfect indentation in the floor. He charged Luffy with his shoulder, but Luffy once again moved out of the way, kicking the ground in front of him and moving backwards a bit. Laxus spun around and swung the sword around him, trying to slice Luffy's head off. He finished his swing, but Luffy was gone. He noticed a shadow on himself and looked above. Luffy was in the air, still looking in front of himself and not seeming to mind Laxus at all. Laxus grinned and trusted his sword towards Luffy.

"_He can't dodge now_" But to his surprise, Luffy simply turned his body in mid-air and bent to one side. Laxus's' sword thrust passed him by a hair.

"_What? Impossible_"

Laxus was shocked. Luffy took the chance. He stretched his arm and grabbed Laxus's coat. He instinctively charged himself with lightning, but Luffy just smiled.

"Told ya, that won't work on me" Luffy pulled himself towards Laxus and raised his fist. Laxus noticed something strange, but a moment too late. His hand was jet black, and Laxus had a bad feeling about getting hit by it. He tried to zap away, but Luffys grip was strong.

"Gomu Gomu no…" Luffy threw his punch

"Pistol!"

He bashed Laxus in the face, and buried him in the ground. A huge shockwave blasted the dirt and small rocks everywhere. Laxus was nowhere to be seen from the dust cloud, but they could see that above it all, a straw hat was slowly falling down. Luffys hand shot out from the dust, and grabbed the hat. He himself jumped out of the dust and put the hat on.

"There, now I got my hat back." He smiled to the rest.

"Now you've done it you little…"

"Hm?"

Luffy turned around and saw Laxus standing, with his head bleeding. The expression on his face was slowly turning very grim.

"Now I'm really mad"

He zapped by Luffys side. Luffy knew something was off. He could see something that looked like scales on his neck.

"Thunder Dragons…"

"You shitty little brat!"

Makarov shouted and a huge hand forming a fist flew towards Laxus. Before he realized what was happening, Laxus was sent flying and crashed into the Guild building. A huge hole formed in the outer wall. Makarov's hand shined again as it returned to normal size. Luffy was shocked by what he had just seen and was left speechless. _"Old guys are scary… He reminds me of Gramps…"_

"Oh crap, I overdid it a bit." Makarov raised an eyebrow and tough "_I didn't think that kids punch could do so much damage to Laxus. I expected him to dodge my punch, not be rammed in the HQ._"

"But you are not too shabby, kid"

Makarov commented, and Luffy just laughed.

"I know it was a bad matchup for Laxus, but you did really well." Makarov frowned and continued. "That idiot, if that attacked reached the city, people could get injured."

"Shishishishi. Sorry if I went a bit overboard" Luffy apologized, "Anyway, I gotta find my crew and my ship. Can you tell me where the next town is? I'm sure they will be waiting for me somewhere"

"Hmm, that's a good plan, but I actually think I already found one of your crewmembers earlier today"

"Ehhh?" Luffy was baffled by shock. "Why didn't you mention this earlier!?"

"Well you didn't say you were looking for anyone, but now that I think about it, I stumbled on an unconscious person today in the woods. I took him to Porluska to get him healed up. Then I came back here only to have Natsu and the rest bring another unconscious person to the guild. Come I'll show you."

"We're coming too Master" Erza added. Natsu, Gray and Lucy also nodded their heads, still looking at Luffy with surprise. Taking down Laxus like it was nothing is something a handful of people can do.

"Good, let's go then shall we? And can someone dig up Laxus and patch him up?" Makarov smiled and led the way.

* * *

><p>"Hmmm, which way should we go? Brook?"<p>

Robin turned to see what her crewmate was doing. Beside her, a living skeleton wearing with a large afro and wearing a suit, looking very high class, aside from the fact he was only bones. Brook walked slowly and was watching the area.

"Ohhh, this is so nice" he then turned to Robin, "Oh, I apologize, Robin, but could I see your…"

"Okay, guess we'll go this way"

She cut Brook off before he could finish his sentence. They were in a large, bright forest.

"But this really is nice." Robin agreed with Brook, "Like a fairy tale"

They walked through the trees and followed the small trail. They suddenly found themselves in a small meadow, covered in a variety of plants and flowers Robin never saw before.

"This does not appear to be our world" She concluded, "I know New World is a strange and unexpected place, but this really feels off."

"Yes, you are correct, Robin-san" Brook noted. Robin looked at him curiously "I am but a soul in the world. My bones are only tying me to the realm of the living. I am connected to the world in a very unique way, and thus, I perceive the world in different way. This definitely isn't our world. The souls here are… untrusting."

"Hmm? What is this sound?"

Robin suddenly stopped. Something was following them. Robin turned around and got her guard up. Brook did not move, as he decided to cover her back.

"Here it comes"

A hooded figure emerged from the forest. It slowly walked towards the two Straw Hats in front of it. Robin focused on the person approaching them, carefully watching its movement. Brook also turned around.

"Who are you?"

The hooded figure stopped. Robin was ready for an attack to come out, but instead the figure raised her hand and took the hood off. The man was rugged, with long black hair running down its back, and for some reason, had large metal rods going through his face.

"Huh? Who are you…" Then he noticed Brook, "What the hell? A walking skeleton?" He then glanced back to Robin

"What are ya? A necromancer?"

"No, we are lost and trying to find a town. My name is Robin. This is Brook. He is… alive in way, and a friend."

"Hmm… I'll keep my eye on you, but I can show you how to get to town. I'm Gajeel."

"And I'm Lilly"

Robin was looking for the other person behind Gajeel, but the voice was coming from above. A small, black cat with round ears landed on Gajeels' shoulder and started inspecting Brook. Robin was equally surprised, but not as much as the other two did at Brook.

"Anyway, follow us, we will have to make a little stop first, then I'll take you to town, okay?" Gajeel asked the duo.

"Yes, that would be very helpful. Thank you very much." Brook replied and took a deep bow. Gajeel was even more surprised at the skeletons manners.

"Well, umm, let's go then"

"So anyway, what is this place?" Robin asked their guide.

Gajeel, still suspicious of the two, was looking at Robin over his shoulder.

"This is the land of Fiore. We are close to town called Magnolia. Good thing ya ran into me. This forest is very easy to get lost in." Gajeel turned his head back and continued to look in front of him.

"I have never heard of Fiore" Brook added, breaking the silence.

Gajeel was a bit surprised.

"Not heard of Fiore?" He turned his head back again and looked at Brook. "Where are you guys from anyway? It's not that I meet living skeletons every day ya know?"

"We are a… travelers group"

Robin answered innocently, and Brook took a look at her face. Gajeel noticed the gesture, but decided to keep it for himself for now. "We are looking for our friends. We split up after the… Well, after being sucked into some black holes"

Gajeel stopped and turned around. "So ya aren't from this world, huh?" He kept looking at Robin and Brook. "Well I might be able to help ya with your problem" He smiled and continued, "I'm actually on my way to see someone in a similar situation like you guys"

"Really?" Brook blurted out in surprise"

"That would be great. Thank you"

"Good, now follow me and…"

"Gajeeeel!"

"Oh, crap" Gajeel suddenly looked nervous and was looking behind Robin and Brook.

"I told Master that I didn't have to take her with me…"

The girl who emerged from the forest was young, with short white hair. She seemed rather pissed off.

"You idiot, why didn't you wait for me? Master told me to keep you in check, and make sure you don't break anything, or get beaten up by Porluska."

"I don't need a brat slowing me down. Now beat it." Gajeel snapped at her. She just stared at him. As she opened her mouth to answer him, she noticed Brook.

"Aaaa! A skeleton!" She screamed and took a stance.

"Calm down, kid." Gajeel tried to explain, "He's… okay, I guess"

"Hello, I'm very pleased to meet you. My name is Brook" he introduced himself. A rather confused and apologetic look appeared on the girls face.

"Oh, hi there. M-my name is Lisanna. Sorry about the…"

"Oh it is okay. I'm used to it by now. So, would you please show me your…"

"Hi. My name is Robin, nice to meet you." She interrupted Brook before he could finish his sentence. "We were getting help from your friend here. We got lost in this forest, and we have to find a town to get some information and supplies."

"Getting help from him? That's odd enough." She glared back at Gajeel and continued, "Well, looks I'm coming with you then. Porluska isn't going to like this many people coming at once…"

"We actually have some business to attend to with this Porluska person." Robin explained "It seems one of our friends is with her at the moment."

"Oh, the person Master found in the woods this morning? That's who we are going to see too. We should get going."

"'Bout time" Gajeel muttered and started walking.

The trio followed him and continued to talk. "So where are you guys from anyway? Are you a guild?" Lisanna asked.

"No we are not. We are a simple travelers group. We ran into some trouble and got split up."

"Oh, and I tough that the old guy was your guild master or something"

"An old guy?" Robin asked in surprise.

"Yea, the person Master found." Lisanna answered, "It was some old guy. A big, grey haired, bearded guy."

Robin could not match the description of the person to any other crew members.

"Maybe, that description sounds a bit like…"

Her thoughts were interrupted by a large explosion about fifty meters in front of them.

"That the direction of Porluskas' house. Something is wrong" Gajeel yelled and turned around and continued, "You guys wait here. I'll go check it out."

"What? No way, I'm coming with you." Lisanna objected.

"Not a chance. You stay here and watch out for anyone trying to escape this way. Got it?" Gajeel was serious this time.

Lisanna just shrugged. "Okay, I get it. Be careful. Or Levy will kill me…" She whispered the last part, but Gajeel still noticed it.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing, just go already." Gajeel glared at her for a few more seconds, clearly annoyed. He finally turned around and started running.

"_What could have happened? No one should be able to find this location. The only other option was that the person who was inside already attacked Porluska?_ "

Gajeel finally noticed that something was off. Someone was running by his sides.

"What the hell are ya doing? I told ya to stay behind"

Robin just smiled and said "We decided to help. After all, the person inside might be our friend and in danger too."

"I don't care. I told you that I will take care of it."

"But, kind sir, we couldn't possibly stay behind," Brook was casually running beside Gajeel, turned to his side and slightly bowing, "You provided assistance to us when we needed it. Now, we will provide assistance to you."

Gajeel couldn't argue with a living skeleton anymore, as they finally reached the house. A huge crater was in front of the house, a big dust cloud was slowly setting down as they reached the edge of the forest. There was a big commotion and a crowd of people in front of it. Gajeel immediately noticed the pink haired mage.

"Oi Salamander, what's going on?" He yelled towards the crowd.

"Eh, Gajeel? What are you doing here? And who are they?"

"Wait, Brook look!"

Robin suddenly noticed the person standing in the opening, slightly lowered, and looking at the big dust cloud. He wore a red shirt, and a straw hat.

"Luffy!" Robin called him.

"Captain! We found you." Brook added.

Luffy turned around "Eh. Oi, guys!"

Robin started to run towards him, but he stopped her.

"Robin! Brook! Run!"

"Eh, run? But why" Brook was confused.

"Because you might die if you stay!" Luffy turned his head back again.

"Why are you here?"

He yelled as a figure started to appear from the dust cloud. It walked slowly and calmly.

"I don't care where we are, and where your friends are. I'm taking you in now." The figure finally came out.

Vice-Admiral of the Marine Headquarters Garp was staring at his grandson with anger. But in a way, he looked relieved.

"Now, are you going to come with me," Garp raised his trademark fist and held it tight. His hand bulged and suddenly he looked really dangerous, "Or am I going to have to teach you why they call me 'The Fist'?"

* * *

><p>Luffy was walking with the unusual group of people through the forest. He admired the scenery. It was very well lit, and the trees were green. Flowers and shrubs were covering most of the forest floor. The waling path was also covered in grass, but it seemed that everyone knew their way around pretty well.<p>

"So, you said you were a pirate?" Makarov asked.

He led the group, although with his size, that seemed a little silly.

"Yea, I'm a pirate" Luffy casually answered.

"So you pillage and steal?" Gray was pretty suspicious of the newcomer.

"Nah, we go on adventures. We are on a journey to find the One Piece." Luffy explained further.

"Ohh what's that?" He saw a strange creature on the tree trunk. It was a small lizard with six legs, and seemed to change his color every few seconds.

"That's a Talpa Chameleon. Be careful, he's poisonous." Makarov explained.

"Ehh, so cool." Luffy commented, and the next moment, the lizard was gone.

"He can also turn invisible. Anyway, what was that you did back there?"

"Hmm? What?" Luffy asked.

"How did you stretch? You said you ate a fruit of some kind?"

"Yea a Devil Fruit."

"What's that?"

"Devil Fruits give you some awesome powers. But in return, you lose the ability to swim."

"So you are a pirate and you can't swim?" Natsu asked in surprise. "That seems kinda stupid, doesn't it?"

"Yea, it does, but people are always trying to get their hands on Devil Fruits. They are extremely rare."

They continued to walk for a while. Luffy continued to observe the forest, and was busy with trying to see everything. In a few moments, they found themselves in front of a house. It was in a strange location, so isolated and far from everyone. Makarov turned to everyone.

"Okay, you guys wait here, Luffy and me will go inside."

"Got it Master" Erza answered, her soldier instinct kicking in.

"Good. Shall we then?" Makarov showed Luffy the way.

They walked inside the house. An old woman was standing by the shelf, sorting out numerous herbs and powders. She turned around and noticed the guests.

"Makarov. I see you brought more people with you again." She pierced him with her look. "You know what I think of people"

"Sorry, sorry." Makarov was apologizing with a nervous look on his face. "Anyway, this is Luffy."

"Hi granny, I'm Luffy, the man who will be..."

"Don't call me granny! I'll throw you out!" She snapped at him.

Luffy decided that it was best for him to keep his mouth shut. Makarov just smiled desperately and tried to smooth things out.

"So, how is the person I brought in today doing? It seems he is a friend of Luffys here." Porluska glared at Luffy for a while, and finally answered.

"He's in the back room. He awoke some time ago." She looked at Makarov, "He wanted to leave several times to look for his comrades, but I managed to keep him here, under the condition you take him to town next time you come. I trust that won't be an issue?"

"Not at all. Now can we meet him?"

"Yea I wanna see who it is." Luffy said and laughed. Porluska shrug.

"Okay, I'll get him for you." She left the room, still glaring at Luffy. He didn't seem to mind and continued to smile as she was going out.

"But really, this is weird day. I never thought you could be connected to that person." Makarov commented looking at Luffy.

"Oh why so?" Luffy asked.

"Well, you seem too different. You are a pirate, and he looked more… Like an official"

"Official?" Luffy was confused.

'Official' isn't the description you use when talking about Straw Hats.

"Yes" Makarov continued, "He wore a long, white coat. And there was something written on it in the back. I think it was..."

He finished his sentence just as the door opened,

"Justice"

Luffy was shocked. More than shocked. His jaw fell down, and he took a few steps back.

"G-g-gramps?" He barely pronounced.

"Well, I didn't think you will be the first person I run into here" Garp was walking slowly towards Luffy with an amused look in his eyes. "Now come with me. I'm taking you in."

"What? You can't take me in here. We are in different world. Besides I have to find my friends."

"Seems you are still a brat."

Garp charged without warning. Luffy wasn't expecting this, and had no time to react. Garp smashed his fist into his face, sending him flying across the room. He hit the window and was thrown outside. Just as he was supposed to hit the ground, he noticed a shadow above himself. Garp was not done. He threw a punch aiming to crash Luffys head into the solid ground below. Luffy barely managed to grab the ground with his hands, do a semi-backflip in midair, and push himself out of the way. Garp's punch connected with the ground. A huge crater formed at the place of the impact, and the blast wave threw Luffy on balance and he hit the ground and rolled off a bit. He got up quickly and waited for another attack.

"Damn it? Why off all people…" He could feel the pain. Gramps' Haki infused punch hurt like hell. "Guess there is no choice. I'll have to fight it out with him."

"Luffy!"

"Captain! We found you."

Luffy turned around to look who was calling him.

"Eh. Oi guys!" He saw Robin and Brook come out of the forest. They were followed by a strange guy. Luffy noticed that he had the same tattoo as the rest from Fairy Tail, so he figured he's a friend.

"Robin! Brook! Run!"

"Eh, run? But why" Brook was confused.

"Because you might die if you stay!" Luffy turned his head back again.

"Why are you here?" He yelled towards Garp.

"I don't care where we are, and where your friends are. I'm taking you in now." Garp casually walked out from the smoke. "Now, are you going to come with me," Garp raised his trademark fist and held it tight. His hand bulged and suddenly he looked really dangerous, "Or am I going to have to teach you why they call me 'The Fist'?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2: The Pride of a Swordsman

"Eeeh, so this isn't our world?"

The person who spoke had a shoulder length black curly hair, tied behind his head. Wearing only pants with suspenders, he shoved off his muscular body he attained during his two year training. His most striking characteristic was his long nose. Usopp was really freaked out, but at the same time, amazed by this place there found themselves in. They were walking down a forest path, and it looked like they were going in circles.

"Damn it, I can't believe we're lost" The blond haired cook was really pissed off for some reason.

"If that marimo hears about this, I'm never gonna hear the end of it." Usopp could understand his frustrations. Sanji continued to walk, muttering something to himself.

"Oh look, it seems that is the end of the forest." Through the trees, they could see something that resembled a lake.

"Maybe we can find someone to get some directions there." Sanji started walking faster, "Let's go, Usopp."

"Got it."

They hurried up to get out of the forest. When they finally emerged from the trees, they realized there was no one at the lake.

"Damn it. We're gonna have to find our own way, I guess." Sanji commented and sighted.

Usopp was busy examining their surroundings through his binoculars. He noticed something on the far, left side of the lake.

"Sanji, look." He yelled all of the sudden. The cook turned around and gazed in the distance.

"There is a path over there. Maybe it leads to a town?" Usopp retuned his binoculars and looked at Sanji.

"You might be right. Anyways we don't really have any better ideas, so I guess we will just follow that path."

They walked to the beginning of the path in silence. Once they reached the path, they noticed it was being used often. That was a good sign and Usopp smiled a bit as he led the way along the path.

"Huh, this was tiresome. We have been walking in that forest for hours. I'm gonna get some rest once we get to town."

"Like hell you are. We still have to find Nami and Robin." Sanji lectured Usopp while making a sad face, "Who knows what danger they might be in…"

"What about the rest of the crew, u damn pervert?!" Usopp yelled at Sanji, but it did not seem to reach it. He was sobbing and yelling,

"Nami-swan! Robin-chwan! Where are you?!" This continued for a while until they reached the peak of a small hill and something caught their attention. They could see towers from some building in the distance.

"We found the town!" Usopp rejoiced and started to run. He was stopped in his tracks by a shadow. An unknown figure jumped in front of them. He wore a brown robe, and a hood. He slowly turned around and faced the two.

"Are you the outsiders?"

I was hardly in a form of a question. It sounded more like an order. Sanji didn't like this.

"What? Who the fuck are you? I'll beat you up!"

"Are you the people who passed the portal?" the figure spoke again.

Sanji was blown off his track by the last question. _"This bastard had something with what happened."_ He got his head clean and started walking slowly the figure standing below them.

"You s-s-shouldn't mess with us. We h-have eight thousand followers with us and…"

"Usopp, this bastard is connected with us splitting up with our ladies. Are you really gonna let him get away with it?" Sanji spoke in a voice trembling with anger. He walked slowly towards the unknown person, taking out a cigarette and placing it in his mouth.

"Yo, shithead." Sanji spoke, "What did you assholes do? I'll kill you if you don't start talking"

He took a lighter out of his pocket and slowly raised it to the cigarette.

"No?"

He lit the cigarette and took a long puff while closing his eyes. After exhaling the smoke he opened the eyes, but the look he gave the hooded figure was nothing like before.

"Then get ready." Sanji charged forward.

His powerful legs carried him to the person in front of him in high speed. Just as he reached him he tightened his right leg while landing on his left. He threw his kick aiming to blow his enemy's head clean off. The hooded figure didn't move an inch. Or so Sanji though. Second before his kick connected, the figure disappeared.

"Wha…?"

The rest of the sentence was stopped because Sanji suddenly found himself flying forward. He skidded across the ground, before managing to gain some footing. He lowered his center of gravity a bit in order to endure another attack. He wasn't sure was he hit or just thrown. His body hurt all over, so he wasn't able to pinpoint the exact place where he was hit. _"What was that?"_ Sanji followed his opponent carefully. He was still standing still, turned towards Sanji. _"Damn it! I got too hotheaded and just charged in. This won't bring Nami and Robin back."_ He raised his head and took another puff of his cigarette.

"Ok, I'll acknowledge you. Now… "He lowered himself and smiled a bit, "get ready, bastard."

He charged again and threw a right kick, same as before. Just as the other time, the figure disappeared as soon as Sanjis' kick got too close.

"Not this time, you shithead." Sanji spoke in a relaxed, polite manor, and turned his head to the right. The figure appeared by his side with his hand stretched out going for Sanji. Sanji suddenly changed the course of his attack mid-kick. He returned his leg in the opposite direction and buried his heel in the figures head. He was thrown far away, and seemed like he barely managed keep himself on the path.

"Looks like we're even now. So…" Sanji was blowing smoke while walking to his opponent, "Are you gonna make me get really serious?"

"Getting serious will only lead to meaningless injuries" The figure spoke again.

Sanji raised his curly eyebrow, "Eh? What are you talking about?"

"You seemed like you wanted to trade blows, so I decided to humor you." The figure started talking while talking his hood off and continued, "Now, if you are satisfied, I hope we can talk for a moment? I might be able to help you get back to you own world."

The man in front of them had blue hair and a strange, red tattoo over his face. His expression was serious, but he wasn't able to hide the curiosity he had about these 'travelers'.

"My name is Jelal. I'm… a person who tries to make this world right from the shadows."

"Oi, is everything ok here?" Usopp finally ran down the hill and joined the conversation. "Oh Sanji I'm glad you are ok! I was-um-busy guarding my, I mean, ours back in case there were more enemies, so I was behind that tree trying to-um-surprise their surprise attack and…"

"Yes, Usopp good job" Sanji immediately cut Usopp's babbling off before he could continue, "I'm Sanji, and this is Usopp. So why is it that you work from the shadows?" he looked at Jelal and blew some smoke in his direction.

Jelal continued, "That is of no importance. This is very important. You and your friends came today through a portal, right?"

"Yes, we were in the middle of a fight and suddenly holes opened all around us, and we were sucked in. What was that all about?" Sanji asked.

"You said you were in a battle?" Jelal suddenly changed his expression.

"Yea, but forget about that, how do we get back?" Sanji bursted.

"We have to assume that your opponents were transferred here as well." Jelal continued ignoring Sanji.

Sanji was stunned. He immediately imagined the three Navy Admirals and a dozen more Vice-Admirals. _"Great, one more problem. Fuck this."_

He lit another cigarette, and looked back at Jelal, "So, how do we get back?"

"It is possible to recreate the spell that brought you here if we manage to gather you all together enough to put enough strain on this reality. You see, you don't belong here. If you remain here more than a few days, you will begin to cause distortions in the dimensional rift."

"Wha-a-a-t does that mean?" Usopp managed to utter.

"It means that you will disappear, but you will also take a large chunk of the surrounding area. And all the people who might happen to find themselves in the area close you." Jelal finished with an empty expression on his face.

"Eeeeh?! Are you insane! You can't just tell us that. Sanji! Sanji, we're gonna die! Forget this guy and let's go find everyone else…"

"Shut up, Usopp, this guy can help us." Sanji was overwhelmed as well by the information.

"Disappear?"

He remembered the tragedy that occurred two years ago, back at Sabaody… _"No!"_ Sanji regained his senses, gazing upon Jelal with burning determination.

"Ok, I got it. We'll follow you. But how the hell did you find us? We have only been here a couple of hours, and yet you seem to know a lot about what happened?"

"You got here when a certain spell backfired. A group of people called the Void Cult was responsible." Jelal simply answered.

"A spell? Backfired? What were they trying to do?" Usopp suddenly interrupted.

"That is of no importance. I have been following the Void Cult for a while now and that's how I found out what happened so fast."

"But how did you find us?"

"You came through a dimensional portal. You are not of this world, so you have a distinctive sense emanating from yourself. I was able to devise a spell that will allow me to pinpoint your location. Now we should go. The Void Cult will be looking for you."

"Why?" Sanji didn't move and was still glaring at Jelal. Jelal sighted and continued the explanation, but with a clearly higher tempo,

"I already told you that if we gather enough of you in group, your existence will start to tear this world apart. The Void Cult wants to use those distortions to complete their spell. I need to make sure that does not happen."

"Now follow me please, we do not have much time." He turned around and started walking.

"So if you are the good guy," Sanji continued talking behind Jelal, who turned around and looked at Sanji, "Why do you have that guilty expression on your face?" Jelal was staring at Sanji for few moments and just smiled and answered,

"That is of no importance."

* * *

><p>Nami was cursing her luck as she walked over the rocky path. Why of all the people on board was she stuck with the biggest muscle-head?<p>

"Nami I think we should go left here."

Zoro was walking behind Nami. He had light green hair, a bulky build, and a large scar that was visible through his unbuttoned white shirt, and another scar over his left eye. Three katanas were hanging from his hip, his hand resting on top of one of them. He was pointing towards one of the possible roads with a serious look.

"Are you really demented? We just came from that direction!" Nami screamed at Zoro. "Honestly, you have zero sense of directions. Ze-ro." She finished her lecture and continued walking. Zoro was pissed off, but still followed her.

"We have to find Luffy and the others as soon as possible. If what you said is true…"

"I know what I saw." Nami was suddenly looking worried. "Kizaru and that Vice-Admiral who were on board were sucked in along with us. Not to mention that we do not know how many of the marines were also transferred."

Zoro knew what she was worried about. Last time they faced Kizaru, they were utterly defeated all together. But Zoro knew that wasn't the dangerous part. If Luffy were to cross paths with Akainu, who knows what he will do. They were walking through a mountain pass, with dozens paths branching out. It felt almost like a maze. Nami was really confident in her navigation skills, but they were not sailing on their ship right now. Walking on a mountain pass, with big walls above them that were obstructing the wind, Nami was having a hard time trying to pinpoint their location. Zoro stopped.

He was looking in front of them and said.

"Nami, I think I can get us out of this damn maze."

"Eh, you? You get lost aboard the ship…"

"Stand behind me" Zoro just continued talking and drew his swords.

"What the…? Wait." Nami ran from Zoros' front, and hid behind a rock behind him. "Be careful dumbass, there might be someone there."

"Don't worry." Zoros' voice was calm and monotonous. His face once again resembled a beast. "There is no one in front of us"

He crossed his arms, raising his swords with sharp edges turned outwards.

"Niitoryu"

Nami understood what he did, but it was amazing every time she saw it. Haki. The power only the strongest warriors acquire. _"He used Observation Haki to check for people around us. Amazing…"_

Zoro bulged up "Onigiri!"

He slashed the air. His sword attack flown, leaving two cuts in the floor as they went. They were coming closer and closer together. Just as they reached the wall that was in front of them, they connected. The arial slashes were fused and larger than before. With a large explosion, they destroyed the wall. After the dust settled, they could see a path leading to the forest. Zoro casually re-sheathed his katanas, and started walking.

"Great, if you can't find your way, just cut one up?" Nami was still not amused with her companion. "Why didn't someone else have to play babysitter…?"

"Hurry Nami, we need to find a town before dark. We don't want to be running into the Navy in the middle of the night."

"Yea, yea I'm coming."

Nami hurried up to catch up with the crazy swordsman. They were walking down the mountain and saw something that looked like a clock tower.

"There's a town. And so close. Perfect I thought I was gonna be stuck with you longer…"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Zoro screamed at her furiously, but Nami just continued.

"I wonder if they have any good shops, we also need to get a map of the area, and supplies for the ship…"

"Oi are you listening to me?!" Zoro snapped at her again, but something caught his attention.

There was a dust cloud coming from the forest. It looked like someone was fighting.

"Nami, look there." He pointed towards the dust cloud. Zoro was not joking around anymore. With the option of running into Navy Admirals, he knew they couldn't take any chances.

"We go." Nami just started running downhill.

"Eh, oi wait." Zoro dashed forward, trying to catch up with the orange haired navigator. They ran for a couple of minutes, and finally reached the forest edge. Nami slowed down and waited for Zoro. He caught up and said

"Don't run off like that, stupid. We don't know what is happening, or who we might run into in these woods."

"I know Zoro. Sorry." She was looking in the floor, her hands behind her back looking genuinely sorry. Zoro could feel his anger melting away.

"Oh, well, it's okay, I just thought that…"

"That's why I waited for you, now go first." Nami raised his head and gave Zoro one of her 'innocent' smiles.

"You devil woman! I knew it!" Zoro snapped at her, but a sound of something breaking stopped their dispute.

"Damn it! Stay close to me Nami." Zoro ran into the forest, while clinging onto his swords.

They ran towards the direction of the battle. Nami was right behind Zoro, although the swordsman was slowly starting to get further away.

"Zoro, slow down a bit"

"Hurry up Nami dammit; I can't look out for you all the time…"

Zoro turned his head at the precise moment to see Nami disappear from his eyes. A large shadow came out of nowhere and continued to move through the forests, far away from Zoro's sight, dragging Nami with it. Zoro instantly stopped running and was looking where the shadow was last in his sight.

"Nami!" he yelled towards the trees. "Dammit! I told her to stay close!"

Zoro changed his direction and began chasing after Nami and her kidnaper. The forest was too dense and he was having trouble following them. _"No way am I letting you get away."_ He calmed himself for a second and eased his breathing. He listened to the surrounding and the sounds of the forest. He began feeling the forest and the living things around him. _"I'm still not that good, but if they're close enough…"_ He began observing the surrounding and sensing every movement and breath in it. After a few seconds, he sensed him. An overwhelming power was emanating from Zoro's right side and was moving at high speed away from him. Zoro felt something he didn't feel for a long time. The thrill of battle. An opponent he wanted to confront and defeat. His rage from Nami's abduction was additionally fueled by a desire to clash with this person.

"Aaaaah!"

He charged towards them and began to chase them. He was moving much better through the woods, not losing any momentum while dashing between the trees and dodging boulders that were in the way. He finally managed to catch up to them enough to be able to see them. He increased his speed even more, and started to use the surrounding trees to push himself to his target. He was only a few meters behind. He could see Nami being carried like a rag doll by the mysterious enemy. Her eyes were shut, and Zoro's rage reached the boiling point.

"Don't think you can just come and try and take one of our friends!"

Zoro kicked the tree one last time and flew above them. Zoros target noticed him and started to turn around midair.

"Niitoryu…" Zoro grabbed his swords, swinging both katanas from his right side, "720 Pound Canon!"

He slashed the air, sending the charged attack to the kidnapers head. The person simply raised his hand and muttered some words. All of the sudden, blades appeared from nowhere, crossing out to prevent Zoro's attack from reaching his target. Zoro's attack connected with the barrier of blades, completely tearing apart the first half of the barrier. His technique started to lose power, and finally stopped leaving only a couple of swords standing. The figure used the rising blades the same way Zoro used the trees before, and made a lot of distance between them. Zoro clenched his swords even more. His beast like ego was active again. As he fell down, he swung his swords again, destroying what was left of the swords barrier. He landed and took a look at the person in front of him. He was big. Not as big as some Zoro has seen, but this person was definitely a strong one. He began walking towards him.

"I don't think you thought this through. Put her on the ground and go,"

Zoro slowly unsheathed his third sword. The Black Blade, Shusui. The katana that slayed a dragon. He placed his treasured Wado Ichimonji in his mouth and bit the hilt. He raised both of his swords and held them with his arms spread wide.

"Or I will have to make you do it."

His face was ominous and brimming with anger. The figure, to Zoro's surprise, let go of Nami. She fell to the ground and hit the floor. Zoro's veins on his head began to pulse as he looked back at his opponent.

"You damn bastard! I'll cut you up!"

The person in front of him took his hood and robe off. He was a big, bulky guy with a lot of writings on his arms, but Zoro never saw that language. He wore simple black trousers, and a dark purple shirt. Shoulder length black hair was braided in dreadlock and he had a black beard on his chin. But the most interesting thing was the expression on his face. It was very similar to Zoro's. A wild face full of excitement.

"Nice job back there." He spoke in a deep voice, "I have been looking for someone to play with for a long time. You see, most of people I encounter tend to, how should I say, get torn to pieces before I get a chance to amuse myself." He smiled with an amused expression on his face.

Zoro was not interested. He met a lot of guys that were only talk anyway. His only concern was to take this guy down as fast as he could. There was still the mystery of who was battling in the forest…

"Now, what should I do with the girl?" The big guy said and surprised Zoro.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you see, I was told to grab one of you guys who came through the portal and bring 'em back. So I figured I'd just grab her and run off. But, I never expected to meet a strong guy like you here. So I can bring you back after I'm done with you and simply kill the girls now and here."

He laughed while watching Zoro shake with rage.

"If you just think of touching her…" He pointed his sword at him, "I will introduce you to hell."

"Hahaha, you guys are funny. You are strong, but you see, I'm a wizard."

He raised his left hand to his side and held it horizontally with his palm down. He took a huge swing at Zoro.

"Devil Arts: Nether Scythe"

Zoro didn't think. His legs moved on their own, led by his past battle experiences. He jumped as high as he could in the air, and landed again.

"Oh, not bad." Zoro heard a sound behind him. When he looked back, he could see an entire part of the forest was cut in half. _"An invisible technique? And with so much power."_ Zoro turned his gaze to his enemy again.

"I think I will praise you. I will not kill the girl until our fight is done, how's that sound?" Zoro was pissed that he had to comply with this guys' demands, but he had no other choice.

"What is your name, swordsman?"

"Roronoa Zoro"

"I am Bagram. The Nether Blade. Remember it swordsman, although you won't be around for long."

"I don't care about your name."

"Huh?"

Zoro simply looked at Bagram with a dark expression on his face and continued:

"If I had to remember every weakling I cut up on my way here, I would have forgotten my own name!"

* * *

><p>"Supeeer where the hell are we?"<p>

Cyborg Franky was walking through the town. His large frame and huge, robotic hands draw a lot of attention and looks from the townspeople. The fact that he was wearing only swim trunks didn't help.

"We need to find Luffy and the others. Good thing we were so close to a town"

Chopper was walking beside Franky in his full animal form. A large reindeer with a blue nose and a hat was also causing rumors and whispers to start among the townsfolk. They were walking down the main road in Magnolia. So far, they didn't hear any information that could be useful. They presumed that the rest popped out somewhere else and that they would be seeking the nearest town. The thing they were still unable to figure out is just where the hell are they. They noticed that a lot of people, although they were looking at them with surprise, were not too confused about their look.

"I guess there are some weird looking people in this world as well." Franky commented.

So far all they knew is there was some weird power in this world that the people used in their everyday life. The lamps around the town had some spheres in them that were producing fire. Some of the vehicles the townsfolk used had no apparent engine or any explanation as to how they are moving. Franky immediately though of Devil Fruit, but there was no way there were so many Devil Fruit users were living in the same town.

"Hmm doesn't that look like an important building, Franky?" Chopper asked Franky while looking down the street, which led up the hill and ended with a large building. It had many towers and looked almost like a castle. Franky observed it for a few seconds and scratched his chin.

"You might be right there Chopper. Let's go there and see if we can find someone who can give us more information."

"Yea, we should hurry."

"Wait a second; I know how we can get there faster." Franky spread his legs a bit and lowered himself. His legs began to release steam and opened up below the knee. From each leg a tank tread emerged and fixated itself, while his legs were setting in a position like he was kneeling, transforming his legs into wheels.

"Hop on Chopper. We need to pick up the paste."

"Yea"

Chopper answered and in an instant turned himself into his semi form. He shrunk drastically and was looking like little boy with an animal mask. His trademark blue nose was still as striking as usual. The townsfolk were amazed at their transformation and began to cheer them.

"Ehh? What do these people think? That we're an attraction?" Franky commented while looking around himself.

"They think we are… awesome?"

Chopper jumped and sat on Frankys shoulder and was looking rather amused by the reaction they got from the crowd.

"Shut it you bastards! You think that cheering us on will make us feel better?!" Chopper said these words, but his body motion made it clear that he was more than flattered by their cheers and claps, as he had a dumb smile on his face and was dancing to their claps.

"Oi, we don't have the time for games Chopper. I'm off"

Franky began to roll himself towards the big building on the top of the hill. He was gaining speed as he went, and soon enough they were far away from the crowd.

"There is something really strange about this world." Chopper mentioned as they were going high speed along the street.

They were slowly approaching the building at the end of the road. The more they got close to it, the more impressive it seemed. The entrance was large and extravagant. It had numerous towers and observatories, but also a small garden that was just barely visible from the front. Franky was instantly reminded of their ship, Thousand Sunny, and Nami's orange garden. They got to the large door. Chopper instantly picked up a familiar scent.

"Franky. I can smell Luffy's scent all over this place. He was here."

"Was?"

"Yea, it seems he left some time ago. He went to the forest. That way." Chopper pointed towards where Luffy's smell was lingering in the air. Franky had a bad feeling about this.

"Hmm, no way Luffy would just wonder off somewhere. Then again he just might…"

Franky and Chopper sighted both at the same time. Their Captain was an idiot, no matter how you looked at it.

"Well I guess it's pointless to follow after him at this point, even if you can smell him out. He was here," Franky clenched his huge fist and a metallic screeching sound was produced,

"Time to see if it was on his own free will"

He knocked on the door with his huge fist. No answer. They both glued their ears to the door, only to hear a faint sound of… a party? They could hear laughter and singing. Franky transformed his legs back into their usual state, and decided to try his luck. He pushed the door, which opened with ease. What they found inside was surprising, to say the least. There were a bunch of people inside drinking and eating, throwing food and drinks at each other. In the far right corner they saw a group of four people fighting while breaking everything around. A girl with white hair in a long, red dress was running to them and yelling something. They stopped fighting and it looked like they were apologizing. They then proceeded to clean up the mess they made. The girl noticed the duo that entered and was now walking towards them.

"She seems like the owner of this bar. She must know what happened to Luffy." Chopper was suddenly excited and jumped off from Franky's shoulder. She approached them with a welcoming smile on her face.

"Hello, my name is Mirajane, how can I help you? Did you come to put up a request?"

"I'm Franky and this is Chopper. Would you happen to know anything about a guy with a straw hat? We are pretty sure he was here some time ago?"

"Oh, you mean the person Natsu and the rest brought in today? His name was Luffy I think…"

"So he was here?" Chopper interrupted her with excitement. Mirajane looked at him with a puzzled look and then said;

"Oh, a talking tanuki."

"I'm not a tanuki! I'm a reindeer! See?" He changed back into his animal form, leaving her without word and drawing attention of the room to the two of them.

"Eeeh? That looks a lot like my Take Over. But wait, you said you know Luffy? Then you must be his friends."

"Yes, and we need to get to him as soon as possible. Could you tell us where he went?"

"He went to old woman Porluska." A voice came from the corner of the room. A man with spiky yellow hair and a long green coat walked to them.

"And I'll be dammed, he didn't lie. He really did have a talking reindeer." The man was covered in bandages and bruises. The wounds looked fresh. Franky immediately connected the dots.

"Oh, so I see you met our Capt'n?" He smirked a bit at Laxus who didn't find it a bit amusing.

"Laxus, remember what Master said. I'm sorry. Your friend had a little argument with Laxus and, well…"

"Yea we can imagine that." Franky answered. "But still, we are in a bit of a hurry, so could you tell us where he went?"

"Don't worry about that, he went to meet a friend of yours. He's with our Master, so he will be safe."

Chopper started to connect a few things, while counting,

"Our friend? So if the two of us were this close to town, and Luffy, and someone else, that means…"

"Yea, the entire crew must be close to here." Franky finished Choppers thought.

"Why don't you wait for him here? You will only get lost in the forest, not to mention that they should be back here soon?" Mirajane smiled and tilted here head a bit.

"Well I guess we could stay here." Franky answered while scratching his head, "Thanks a lot. We will repay you any way we can for all the help."

"Oh don't worry about that. Come, you must be hungry." They walked down the middle of a large dining room. Numerous tables were set and a large bar was located at the other side of the room. On the right, a big board was put with countless pamphlets and wanted signs. Franky immediately remembered the Navy.

"What are those posters on that wall there?" Franky asked while following Mirajane.

"Oh those are job requests. We are a guild, and we make our living by doing all sorts of jobs people request us to, and then pick up the reward for the job. There are countless guilds spread all around the country. But we are the strongest guild, Fairy Tail." She explained in a polite manor, not once losing her dazzling smile.

"A guild? So you all live here and take care of job that people bring in? Sounds like something you could be doing alone or in a smaller group…"

"Don't go underestimating the importance of a guild. Stupid." Franky turned his head and looked at the person talking to him. It was a girl with long, thick brown hair. She wore a simple sleeveless shirt and trousers. A tattoo of the sign that was above the door was placed on her right shoulder. The weird thing was that she was chugging an entire barrel of booze all by herself, and didn't seem to be willing to share any.

"Sorry if I offended anyone, I just thought that it was a bit weird, that's all." Franky answered.

"Bah, outsiders don't know shit." She spanned at Franky and took a big sip from her barrel.

"Cana, you should be so rude to our guests. I'm sorry; she gets a bit like this when she drinks. So I guess she's like that all the time…?" Mirajane tilted her head again and put on a thinking face.

Chopper broke the silence, "So what kind of jobs are those that only you guys can do them?"

Cana wiped the leftover booze from her chin and smiled a bit,

"Oh, we are mages."

She raised her hand, shook it once and suddenly there were numerous cards in her hand. Using only one hand, she picked three and tossed them in the air. Cana raised her head and said theatrically,

"Water. Air. Fire."

The three cards shined for a second, before turning into the materials she listed. The first card turned into water and formed into a perfect bubble, the second card ripped and started swirling like a small tornado, and the third bursted into flames. All three slowly descended and were now rotating around Cana. She smiled once more while looking at their dumbfounded faces.

"Now do you see what it's all about? A Magic Guild is where people gather to live, work, and learn. But that's the official explanation." She suddenly looked nostalgic and happy, "A guild is like a family. A place where you are safe and surrounded by people you love."

She once more turned her gaze towards Franky and Chopper and was looking angry for a second,

"Not that you people could understand this."

"On the contrary, we understand it perfectly."

Franky laughed and though of the crew. Luffy gathered around himself people who had nowhere else to go, and gave them the opportunity to fulfill their dreams. And he wasn't gonna let anyone stand in the way of their dreams. Cana noticed the expression on the robots face. It was… familiar. It was the face everyone in the guild had. A face of someone who belonged somewhere.

Mirajane noticed it as well. "Well, how about that food now? Why don't you take a seat, and I'll be right back."

"Sure, thank you."

Franky grabbed the biggest chair he could find and sat on it, only to have it break.

"Damn it, my weight is too much for these weak chairs. Sorry about that, I'll fix it up in a moment."

Cana raised an eyebrow and said, "It's shattered into pieces. Why don't you let me fix it up?"

She took out on of her cards, but to her surprise, the talking reindeer stopped her.

"It's not a problem. Franky can fix anything. He is our shipwright."

He smiled and jumped on the table and observed Franky. From his huge hands, a pair of smaller hands popped out. His stomach opened up to everyone's surprise, and a set of tools emerged. He grabbed the tools and with impossible speed, he began patching the chair up. In a few seconds, where was one a pile of wood, now stood a chair, reinforced with steel plates and very comfy armrests. Franky retracted his smaller hands, and returned the tools inside his abdomen, and casually sat down like it was nothing.

"What?!"

Everyone in the room screamed and jumped on their feet. Cana dropped her card in surprise and was having trouble figuring out what happened.

"How the… What are you?"

"I'm the shipwright of the Straw Hat Crew, Cyborg Franky. The little guy on the table is our doctor, Tony Tony Chopper. Please to meet you." Franky made a smug smile and turned again towards Mirajane.

"Anyway, we don't seem to have money that's worth in this world, so we are happy to repay you any way we can."

"Oh don't worry about that. Since Fairy Tail won the Grand Magic Games a while back, our guild didn't have any financial problems. So what can I get you?"

"Cola for me, if you have any. Chopper?" he turned to his crewmate.

"Umm, would you happen to have any cotton candy?"

"I got this one, Mira."

A person sitting on the other table stood up. He was and older man in his forty's, and was starting to lose hair. He was smoking a pipe which didn't seem to run out of smoke, even while he was talking.

"Here's another example of magic for ya guys." The smoke suddenly became more dense and sprouted out of the pipe in a larger quantity. He grabbed a wooden spoon from the table and sent the smoke around it, which changed color and was now dark purple. It solidified on the spoon and stood there. He handed it to Chopper and said,

"Here ya go. By the way, the name's Wakaba. Please to meet ya."

Chopper was more than amazed by what he had witnessed and couldn't stop shaking from excitement. He took the spoon and grabbed a bite from the smoke. His face was that of pure happiness.

"It's delicious. Franky these guys are amazing. This is so cool!" He continued to munch on the treat and seemed much focused on it.

"Anyway, if this world has magic, how come we saw so many people working ordinary jobs around town? Why don't they all work as mages in guilds?" Franky continued his conversation with the surrounding people.

"Oh well in this world, even though people can learn magic, not all are keen to become mages. And of course, not all are able to. So they do what they can. It's our job to provide help anywhere we can."

"I see." Franky answered and took a sip from the bottle in front of him. The quality of cola was also better here…

The remainder of their conversation was interrupted by Chopper, who had a very serious look on his face,

"Franky, I can smell something." Franky knew that Choppers nose was right one hundred percent of the time.

"What is it Chopper?"

Chopper was shaking again. This time it was not from excitement. He looked at Franky and managed to utter a single word.

"Kizaru"

Franky jumped from the chair. Everyone was surprised, but Franky didn't care.

"We have to go. Otherwise you all might be in danger."

"Eh, why do you say that?" Mirajane was confused but Franky just grabbed Chopper and put him on his shoulder.

"Is there a back door?"

"Yes, but why do you need to…"

"Franky he's here!"

The front door opened. The man that walked in was over three meters tall, with brown hair and orange sunglasses. He wore a yellow and orange striped suit with a big white coat over it. He observed the room for a while before finally speaking:

"Heeeelloooo, I got an information that there is a boy with a straw hat here. If you would be so kind to hand him over," His face suddenly looked really ominous as he continued,

"Or else I'll have to find him myself."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3: The Demons March

Zoro charged. He swung his swords as he was running, sending his slashes at Bagram. He raised his fingers and made some motions in the air, summoning blades from the ground in front of Zoro. His slashes were stopped with ease, but Bagram's blades were also destroyed in the process. _"He's not gonna make this easy? Good."_ Zoro grinned and continued to charge forward, breaking through the blade barrier. Bagram just laughed,

"Good, good. Show me more."

He raised his hands in the air and threw them down again. Large swords appeared from Magic Circles above Zoro, falling straight at him. Zoro was forced to stop and block the incoming attack, while noticing that Bagram wasn't done. He swung his arms wildly around himself, summoning blades and swords all around Zoro.

"Screw this."

Zoro bulged up, deflecting the large swords that he was blocking and swung his swords around himself.

"Santoryu: Tatsumaki!"

A tornado of wind arose from his swords and swirled around him, nullifying Bagram's attack. Not easing up, he continued to run at him. He was only meters away, before noticing that he was smiling with a smug look on his face.

"You should watch your back, swordsman."

From the forest, blades emerged and flew towards Zoro. Just as they were gonna rip him to pieces, Zoro jumped in the air and turned around.

"Who said I wasn't watching my back?"

With inhuman precision, he parried each blade as they approached him, changing their direction midflight. He sent all of the blades flying past him, and straight towards Bagram.

"What? Such technique, it's impossible."

"Eat this!" The blades pierced all over Bagram's body, and Zoro smiled.

"Ch, just as I though, he was just talk."

"Are you sure about that, swordsman?"

Zoro landed and looked at Bagram with disbelief. The blades were hovering just millimeters from his skin. He laughed while watching Zoro, who just stood there confused.

"These blades are not just tools. I created them, and I command them. They are a part of my body, so to say."

Zoro grinned as he answered, "These swords are a part of me as well; don't think you are something special."

He took a stance and bit down as hard as he could on his Wado Ichimonji. The air suddenly changed. Zoro was looking at Bagram, while crossing his arms and prepared to take a large swing.

"Stop this! Santoryu: 1080 Pound Cannon!"

Zoro swung his arms and twisted his entire body in order to gain more momentum and power. An enormous slash formed in front of him, blowing away the ground in front of him and was going straight at his opponent. Bagram buried his feet in the ground and was looking like a hungry animal.

"Excellent! Finally, a proper challenge!" He grabbed his right elbow with his left hand, which he then extended and pointed at Zoro's technique with his palm facing down.

"Devil Arts: Samael's Broadsword!"

From bellow his hand, a sword tip appeared. A sword three meters wide emerged from Magic Circle underneath his palm, with purple and black flames coming from the edges.

"Fly"

It shot from under Bagram's arm, and it didn't seem like the blade had an end. It continued to stretch forward, until it connected with Zoro's technique. Both attacks exploded. The ground below the point of impact and around started to break, and large chunks were flying in all directions. Zoro's attack was completely torn apart and the blade continued to fly towards Zoro… But he was no longer there. Bagram was puzzled and was shaking his head left and right, trying to find him.

"Where did he…" He looked above, but there was nothing in sight.

"You should watch your bottom, wizard." Bagram quickly turned his gaze below and saw Zoro just inches from him.

"Did he run under my attack?"

Zoro grabbed his swords by the hilts, holding them in backwards. He swung the katanas upwards,

"Niitoryu: Rising Tower!"

His attack connected. He could feel flesh being cut, and blood splashed from the wound.

"Damn it! Too shallow."

Bagram managed to summon a sword and partially block Zoro's attack, but the tip of his katanas still grazed him. The large sword disappeared, and Bagram was now focused getting away from Zoro.

"You little… I'll kill you!"

The writings on Bagram's arms started to glow. Zoro finished his upwards cut, repositioned the hold of his swords, and started to swing back down.

"Niitoryu: Descending Tower!"

He slashed him again, and torn his shirt. Bagram managed to back step, and save himself from being carved up by Zoro's attacks. He pointed his arms at Zoro, summoning blades from above him and sending them flying down like rain. Zoro regained his posture and was now busy deflecting swords that were falling at him. The blades he deflected were simply turning in air and returning at him again, now charging from all directions. He swung his swords as fast as he could, deflecting and breaking incoming blades.

"Damn it, I can't keep this up for long." He didn't have a moment to ease up, and Bagram found this very amusing.

"Hahaha! Yes, dance for me! Are you getting tired? I'm not done here!" The writing shined again, as four large and curved blades appeared above Zoro.

"Now die, swordsman." The blades started to rotate, and were now spinning towards Zoro at high speed.

"Don't underestimate me, ya freak!" Zoro stopped his parrying. Several blades pierced his body, but he didn't seem to care. To his surprise, Zoro jumped towards Bagram, simply deflecting the swords that were in his front.

"Shit! He got too close again!" Bagram tried to gain some distance between the two of them again, but this time it was too late. Zoro crossed his arms, and gave Bagram a smug look.

"I win"

He slashed and passed his enemy while returning his swords into his scabbards. Bagram let out a scream of pain as he fell to his knees. Blood dripped from his chest and he was breathing heavily. Zoro noticed that the blades that pierced him were now gone. He was also bleeding, but nothing compared to the wounds he received in the past. He walked to Nami in order to make sure she's all right. Luckily, she was unharmed, in spite of the mayhem that occurred around her. Zoro sighted,

"At least she won't hit me when she wakes up" He bent over to pick her up, when he heard a voice behind him.

"Swordsman, now you've done it."

Zoro turned his head around, _"No way, he's still alive?"_ Bagram was standing and looking at Zoro. Blood was flowing from his wound, and Zoro only now noticed the large tattoo on his chest. A purple skull with horns and sharp teeth.

"You turned your back to me? Who do you think I am? I am Bagram!" He yelled with a crazed expression on his face and started to run at Zoro. He summoned blades behind Zoro and was charging at him.

"Damn it! Nami is…"

He drew his swords but Bagram was faster. He struck Zoro with his fist, sending him flying over Nami. As he flew, Bagram swung his arms, and countless blades thrust into the ground around Zoro, cutting him up and enclosed him in a cage of swords. Zoro screamed and tried to free himself, but the swords were too deep in the ground, and he was laying on top of them, with no way of moving his arms. When he tried to move, the swords sliced him even more.

"Now swordsman, let's play another game." Bagram was standing above Nami. Zoro's face turned pale.

"If you just touch her…"

"You are not in a position to negotiate. Now let go of those swords."

Zoro clenched his katanas even harder and gave Bagram a raged look.

"Don't play with me swordsman," From Bagram's hand, a sword grew. It continued to grow until it reached Nami's throat. Then it stopped. Zoro was sweating. How did he let them get into such a situation?

"Let the swords go, or I'll slit her throat."

Bagram wasn't joking, and Zoro could see it in his eyes. The eyes of a mad sadist. He let go the swords and they fell to the ground. Bagram moved his hand, and the blades that were surrounding Zoro retracted a little, letting him get up. He managed to pull himself out of the cage, and stood in front of Bagram.

"Let her go." Zoro demanded, never easing up on his raged look. Bagram laughed again.

"Do you know how satisfying it is to cut up a girl's skin? So soft and smooth… and then so red."

He moved the blade from his hand all over her body. Zoro felt his rage reach a boiling point, while feeling helpless at the same time.

"Let her go."

"Oh, I thought I told you. You are in no position to order me around. Now, where should I cut her first? Tell me."

His smile was disgusting. He licked his lips awaiting Zoro's response. Zoro couldn't believe what was happening. He did not know how to react, except…

"Cut me."

"Huh?" Bagram tilted his head and raised his eyebrow a bit.

"Cut me instead. Carve me up, pierce me, do what the hell you want. But let her go."

Zoro's eye was dead on serious. His iron will was unmatched and even Bagram was shocked for a second. Then he laughed. He laughed for what seemed forever. He raised his blade above his head.

"I guess I'll chop her left hand first." He swung down. To Zoro, the swing seemed like it was in slow motion. He tried to scream something but his voiced failed him. He watched the blade get closer and closer to Nami…

"Oraa!"

A shadow appeared beside Bagram's head. He barely managed to avert his eyes, before a series of strikes was landed all over his face, scratching him and slashing. The shadow started to fall, and kicked him midair, sending him flying backwards.

"Guah! Who the hell…"

Bagram fell and final saw his attacker. It was a small girl, with short white hair. She had cat ears and claws on her hands. She grabbed Nami and quickly dashed away.

"How the hell did you sneak up on me you little…?"

"Heh, cats are experts at prowling and catching their prey off guard. Didn't you know that?" She smirked at him while carrying Nami.

Bagram summoned swords beside him, but realized he had forgotten something. He shifted his view towards the cage of blades, but it was too late. Zoro was already by his side, griping his swords and gazing at Bagram with monstrous rage.

"Damn it!"

Bagram cried out and tried to block, but Zoro was too fast. His swords danced and he delivered countless cuts at Bagram's body, before sending him flying even further. He flew while bleeding from his cuts and his voice suddenly exploded.

"I'll kill you all you little pests! Devil Arts: Blood Rain!"

The sky suddenly went dark. There were no clouds in sight and Zoro raised his head. Countless blades and swords appeared from the sky and were blocking the Sun. They covered the entire area, and Zoro realized what he was gonna do. _"He's gonna impale us all." _

He turned his head and looked at Nami and the girl. They were defenseless against an attack of this magnitude. He rushed over to them…

"Now fall!" Bagram clenched his fists. The blades started to fall down like rain. They were gaining speed fast. Zoro was getting close to the girls, but a sword struck besides his leg, making him trip over and fall. Bagram just laughed and turned away.

"Dammit! Nami!" The rain of steel was only a few seconds from striking them. Bagram was bleeding heavily as he ran away. He took one last look behind him,

"We will meet again swordsman! I know it! And next time let the rage fuel your swords even more than it did today!" With those words he was gone into the forest. Zoro grabbed his swords and jumped from the ground. He was finally above the two girls who were lying on the floor.

Then, the blades fell to the ground…

* * *

><p>Luffy was shaking. Not just because of fear, but from excitement as well. A feeling he did not have often when fighting. He felt it many times when he was charging forward into adventures and exploring new lands, but real fights were a serious business. And yet as he now stood facing his grandfather, he could feel his hearth racing. He was pumped up on adrenalin and an urge to finally test the strength of the one that was called the strongest Marine. Garp was walking slowly towards him, his eyes penetrating Luffy's core with his stare. Luffy was trying to get his head straight. He took a deep breath and lowered his center of gravity. <em>"He will come hard, no hold backs."<em> He fixated his gaze in front of himself and put his left hand in front, while tensing his right arm behind himself.

Garp smirked, and disappeared into the air. Luffy was caught off guard, _"Too fast! I couldn't follow him."_ He felt an ominous feeling above him. He quickly kicked the ground with his feet, and threw himself to his right. At the same time, Garp shifted and slammed his fist into the ground, breaking it.

"Not bad, brat." Garp smirked again.

He didn't stop there, as he pulled his hand from the ground and jumped towards Luffy. This time he was ready. Luffy stretched his arm and just as he touched the ground with his feet, he began his counterattack.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" He threw his punch at Garp, but it was futile.

Garp caught his fist with his hand, and was still going forward. Luffy slammed his left leg into the ground, burying it to get a more solid footing. He waited for Garp to get closer, while trying to pull his hand out of his grip. Garp was right above him for the second time.

"It's over, you stupid grandson!" But Luffy was ready. He leaned his body backwards a bit, and threw a kick with his right leg, sending it flying straight up.

"Gomu Gomu no Kazan!" His feet slammed into Garp's jaw.

He spit blood, as his body flew up. But he didn't fly as Luffy intended. His body was simply raised into the air a few inches, before landing again.

"What? How are you…?"

Luffy was sure he hit him good. He could feel it. But Garp simply spoke,

"Did you think you could finish me that easy? You really are still a brat." He lowered his head to look at Luffy.

His look was like steel. Luffy felt tingles go through his body. He retracted his leg and tried to get some place between them. As soon as his feet left the ground, Garp moved in. He buried his left fist into Luffy's body.

"Guaah!"

Luffy felt an enormous amount of pain. He figured his ribs were probably cracked, as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. His body was sent flying and he hit the ground and rolled on it for a good dozen meters. He finally stopped and grabbed the place he was struck. It wasn't as bad as he thought, although it still hurt like hell.

"Give it up, Luffy!"

Luffy raised his head and saw his grandfather walking towards him. His look was still ice cold, and he seemed more irritated by something.

"Give it up; you will never survive with that strength alone!" Garp yelled again.

"Go to hell, you damn geezer!"

Something rammed Garp by the side. It was enveloped in a large flame, and sent Garp flying. Once the flames subdued a little was Luffy able to see who it was. Natsu was standing, his entire body burning and his gaze fixated towards Garp.

"I'm not letting some old guy beat him up. He's under protection of Fairy Tail! How's that gonna reflect on us if we just let people get hurt in front of us? You okay, Luffy?"

Natsu looked at Luffy, who was struck by Natsus appearance and his logic. It was like seeing Ace again…

"You are overstepping here, kid. This is between me and Luffy. If you don't want to get hurt, step aside."

Garp was once again walking towards the two like nothing happened. His coat was torched at one place, but it didn't seem like Natsu's attack had any effect.

"Don't you lay a hand on him." Luffy finally managed to get up.

He raised his head and looked straight at Garp. His eyes have changed. Luffy gazed at Garp, who couldn't hide a smile. _"He really does resemble you… Roger." _Luffy lowered his body, and cleared his head. He didn't think they could win, but getting away was an option.

"Natsu, keep on your guard. He's strong. Really strong."

"I got ya, Luffy. But that doesn't make me wanna stop." Natsu smiled and the flames from his body started burning stronger, "I'm all fired up."

"Hehe, you kids never learn, do you?" Garp noted and disappeared into the air.

Natsu didn't expect that. In all his life he only met a several people who could completely fade out from his vision. _"Damn, Luffy warned me about keeping my guard up and yet…"_ He barely turned his head around, only to feel a shadow on himself from the other side. _"Shit!"_ Natsu heard a slam, but he didn't feel it. When he turned his head to the other side, he saw Luffy kicking Garps hand away. _"He noticed him?"_

"Luffy! You got a bit cocky didn't you?" Garp spun around in air, driven by the momentum from Luffy's kick, and aimed at Luffy's head with his elbow. Jet black elbow was slammed into Luffy's head, sending him blasted towards Natsu.

"What the…?" Natsu buried his feet and barely managed to hold both himself and Luffy on the ground. Once they stopped, Natsu got Luffy back on his feet and asked,

"What the hell is he? He doesn't move like an old man!"

"He's a monster! Get away from here. You don't have anything to do with this!"

Luffy didn't let up as he got back on his feet and stood up to the beast in front of him. _"What is this guy?"_ Natsu couldn't understand why he desired to fight him so bad. Then he heard someone yelling his name.

"Salamander! How long are you gonna sit there? Or should I swap in for ya!"

After looking for the person talking for a second, Natsu saw Gajeel standing a couple of meters away and two more people who he did not recognize.

"A girl and a… skeleton?" Natsu connected the dots. "Those two… are they with Luffy?" He looked back at Luffy who was charging straight into his enemy with an enraged look on his face.

"His fight… isn't for himself…" Natsu burned. He burned with admiration towards Luffy and his will. "So, there are guys like this in other worlds, huh? I'm glad I met you, Luffy." Natsu rose, and his feet started to exhume large amounts of fire in the ground.

"Here I come!" Natsu's feet exploded, propelling him through the air.

In front of him, Luffy was having trouble landing a hit on Garp. The old man moved like a piece of paper in the wind, dodging Luffy's strikes like nothing. His reflexes were not dull, and the difference in battle experience was enormous. Garp unexpectedly moved into Luffy's space. _"Damn, he's too close!"_ Luffy tried to back away, but Garp bashed his knee into Luffy. Luffy coughed blood as he was raised from the ground b Garp's attack. As he floated for a moment, he saw Garp's risen fist turn jet black.

"Don't you dare ignore me!"

Garp shifted his focus to the sound, but a moment too late. Natsu appeared from nowhere, and buried his elbow into Garp's face. Luffy quickly followed extending his leg and swinging it from the side.

"Gomu Gomu no Whip!" He kicked Garp's head from the opposite side of where he was already attacked, slamming his head.

"Nice, this did some good damage." Natsu commented, but he instantly knew he was wrong. Garp never let his fist down. He pushed himself through their attacks, and punched Luffy in the face, while rotating again and hitting Natsu to the sides with his leg. They were blasted away, but both grabbed the ground beneath them really fast and continued their attack.

"What naive brats. It is too early for you to challenge me." Garp's expression went cold. He awaited their attacks with complete concentration. Natsu was in the lead. He jumped in the air in front of Garp,

"Fire Dragons…" He took a deep breath while Luffy was running below him, "Breath Attack!"

He breathed a fiery tornado at Garp, which didn't even move. Luffy threw his hands behind himself and was only a meter away from Garp.

"Gomu Gomu no," He retracted his hands while stopping only inches in front of Garp, "Bazooka!"

Both attacks flew at Garp, who merely sighted,

"You dumb brats." He clenched his fist and cladded it in Haki. Without moving sit position, he raised his hand and threw a punch at the fire that was coming at him.

"Fist of Love!"

The attacks collided. The blazing inferno was stopped by the sheer force of Garp's punch. The fire was being torn apart by his fist for a few seconds, before beginning to return back to Natsu.

"What the…? How…"

Natsu was blasted by his own attack before he could even react. _"It hurts? No way that fire managed to hurt me. Does that mean the power of his punch reached me as well?"_ He fell to the ground and checked at Luffy. His attack connected, but there was something odd. When the fire and smoked cleared, Natsu was stunned by what he saw. Luffy's attack was completely ignored by the old man in a coat in front of him. His stomach was covered in black, and looked like his fist. Natsu didn't know what happened, _"Is this some technique from the other world?"_

Luffy knew they were in trouble. _"Gramps is angry. I gotta back up."_ He again tried to get some distance, but Garp was faster once again. He kicked Luffy, sending him flying backwards. Garp followed him, while Natsu was trying to get to both of them.

He got in close to Luffy who was trying to get some footing again, but Garp was above them both. Natsu again blasted fire from his mouth, but Garp grabbed Natsu by the neck and held him tightly, choking him. The flames he was breathing went out, but instead his entire body began to burn. Natsu couldn't say anything but he looked at Garp with a smirk. Garp simply smiled and Natsu noticed that his hand was covered in the black thing from before.

"I told you, it too early for you kids to challenge me." He began raising his other hand and forming a fist…

"How about me then?" Garp didn't saw it coming. A large fist was suddenly rammed into his body, making him let go of Natsu and smashed into a couple of trees. Luffy finally landed and was now looking at who helped them. Natsu fell to the floor, holding his neck and trying to get some air.

"I will not allow you to hurt my little brats, no matter who you are." Makarov was standing ten meters from Luffy and Natsu, his face enraged and his figure bathed in a bright light. Despite his small build, Makarov's appearance was quite powerful. Luffy saw that expression on his face once before. It was during the War of the Best, where Whitebeard stood alone against the swarm of Marines in attempts to rescue his crewmembers which he called his sons…

A huge tree flew through the air and landed next to Makarov, which never moved and inch. From the rubble, Garp emerged and was scratching his head while walking to Makarov.

"So, you are gonna be a nuisance too? This has nothing to do with you people. I'm here to apprehend this criminal and…"

"Does that mean I should stay still and do nothing when one of my brats are getting beat up? Would you not do the same for your family?"

Makarov snapped at Garp, his anger getting more intense. The ground began to crack from beneath his feet, light coming out of the cracks. Those words struck Garp more than he had hoped they would. Images flashed through his head from that day. Ace chained besides him, the burning fist of Akainu's piercing his chest…

"I… would do the same for my family." Garp dropped to the ground, sitting in his usual position, legs crossed. "Very well then! Luffy!"

He looked at the direction of his grandson, "I will form a truce with you here and now! Until we get back to our world, I will not harm you, or any of your friends. But once we are, back I'm taking you in. understood?" His eyes were serious and sincere. Luffy got up and looked at Garp with a same look,

"Understood, but there is one small problem." Garp raised his eyebrow in confusion, as Luffy continued, with a smile "You are not taking me in even after we get back. I still need to find the One Piece." Garp smiled back to his grandson,

"He he, you are getting ahead of yourself again boy. It's still too…"

"What the hell is that?" Erza was the first to notice something in the distance. There was a large shadow on the nearby field. It seemed too unnatural, since the rest of the sky was clear.

"Those aren't clouds, they are… Blades?" Gajeel was suddenly looking panicked. "Damn it, that's close to where I left Lisanna. Oi Salamander! Get yourself up, we gotta go! Lilly!"

The black cat that was resting beside Gajeel grew white, angelic wings and grabbed Gajeel by his back. The blue cat called Happy also grew wings and grabbed Natsu. The duo was now flying in the air, gaining speed and altitude as they went. Luffy was amazed, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. He looked at the place where the blades formed in the sky just in time. The blades fell to the ground. Luffy shifted his focus from the things surrounding him, closing his eyes. He ignored the sounds and the images, having them fade away in his mind. His Observation Haki took over as he tried to sense out what was happening far away from them. He picked up a familiar sense, but only for a second, before it went out. Luffy opened his eyes as he screamed,

"Zoro!"

* * *

><p>"Nooow, if you would be so kind to point me to the location of the boy with a straw hat." Kizaru was standing in the middle of the dining hall, looking left and right. "I was sure I felt someone else in hereeee, but now they are gone."<p>

He gazed at the direction of the only people standing up, Cana and Wakaba. Kizaru slowly moved towards them while still examining the room. He finally reached them. Cana took a few steps back, intimidated by Kizaru's sheer size. She was barely reaching his hips, and the unknown giant was staring directly at her.

"Little miss, would you happen to know if there was anyone else here before me? Hmmm, some unusual people perhaps?"

Cana barely managed to answer him. This guy was dangerous, and everyone in the room could feel it.

"T-there hasn't been anyone here. I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about."

Kizarus facial expression never changed, but his eyes rushed from one side of the room to the other.

"And, what if I don't believe you, little miss?" He turned his focus back on Cana, which was starting to get a little sweaty.

"It's not your concern even if there were people here, this is our guild. Who the hell are you anyway?"

Laxus emerged from the back of the room. He stared Kizaru down, although he didn't seem to be interested. Kizaru slowly turned around and without even looking at Laxus, answered,

"I am an Admiral from the Marine Headquarters, Kizaru. I am here to apprehend a certain person, Straw Hat Luffy. I already know he has been here, so there is no point in denying that. Now, I'll ask one more time; where is Straw Hat?"

Laxus wanted to say something, but someone cut him off. Mirajane approached Kizaru, her head raised in order to look him in the eye. Kizaru turned his head towards her, waiting for her response.

She just smiled, tilted her head and spoke,

"He indeed was here, but he left a while ago, he said he had to find his friends. We found him injured in the forest, and decided to help him. Once we realized that he was a criminal, we told him to leave. If we had known that there were people looking for him, we would have kept him here. Shall we inform you if he comes back?"

If Kizaru was surprised by this answer, he hid it well. His face never changed, yet he stopped looking around the room. Finally he smiled and turned around,

"Thank you for your help, young miss, but still keep one thing in mind." Kizaru turned around with the corners of his lips caught in a cold smile, "If I find out you are sheltering him, I will dispose of you all."

Cana widened her eyes in fear. Mirajane gripped one hand with the other one, but one person didn't like the threat. Laxus stood between the newcomer and the door. He gazed straight at Kizaru, and spoke in a voice that sliced the air like a blade,

"Don't you think I will let you walk after you made a direct threat to my guild?" Thunder crackled from Laxus's body as he continued, "No one badmouths Fairy Tail in front of me."

"Ooooh, you wish to fight me? I haven't met a lot of people who desire to clash with me, indeeeed."

Laxus began to get into stance, but a scream stopped him,

"Laxus don't be a fool!" It was Mirajane, her face pale and worried. Laxus froze in place and turned his head to confront her.

"Why the hell not? He just said he was gonna kill us all, and you are gonna let it slide?"

"Laxus, listen to me. If you fight him here, the place is going to get thrashed again, and Master is not going to like that. Beside there is no need for him to return" Mirajane once again put on her friendly smile and spoke to Kizaru,

"Since we are not assisting the criminal you told us about, there is no need to come back?"

Kizaru stared at her for a few second and then simply turned and began walking towards the exit. Laxus was still pissed off, as he didn't take his eyes off Kizaru all the way he walked across the room. Kizaru never took his gaze off the door as he walked out, and Laxus found that even more irritating. He moved his head around while Kizaru moved through the room, and when he was at the door, he slightly turned his head and said,

"If I ever find out you lied to me, I will execute you all. And I never lie." He ended his sentence with a wide smile that sent chills through everyone's spines. Everyone except Laxus, who began pacing towards the now closed door that Kizaru left behind.

"You moron, why do you always have to do things your way?! Can't you ever think about everyone else around you?"

Mirajane screamed at Laxus, her eyes suddenly looking very angry. Laxus stopped, turning his head back again. He was pissed, but when his eyes met hers, he realized he went too far. Not even he was brave enough to piss off Mirajane the Demon. He snorted and quickly walked away back into the back of the room, leaving the rest in the dining hall. Mirajane took a few deep breaths and began to clean up the tables. Cana put a hand in her pocket, but another mage behind her stopped her. He had dark purple hair tidily combed behind his head, around fifty years old and a thick grey mustache.

"Not just yet, Cana" He was staring at the door with concentration, "He might still be around here somewhere. Oi, Warren. Can you sense him?"

He called another mage from across the room. This one had short black hair, which hanged from the sides of his head. He pressed two fingers on his forehead and closed his eyes. He remained like that for a couple of second and opened his eyes again and answered,

"It's okay Macao. He's already passed the Cardia Cathedral. He shouldn't be able to sense them now."

"Good. Do it, Cana."

Cana nodded and took out two cards from her pocket. She threw them on the floor and said,

"Release!" The cards were bathed in a bright light and exploded in a huge smoke.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Tell me when you are gonna do that, stupid!"

Franky emerged from the smoke, looking irritated. Chopper followed, but in a different mood.

"Amazing! Amazing! Do it again!"

"Shut up Chopper, we have more important matter to deal with." Franky turned his head towards Cana, "Still I have to thank you. If you didn't act fast, we might have all been obliterated."

"Is he really that strong?" Macao asked. Franky turned his head around and looked at Macao. His face showed signs of fear as he answered to Macao,

"Yes. He singlehandedly defeated us all two years ago. We couldn't even touch him, so we are not even sure of the range of his power."

Everyone in the room didn't know what to say. They all looked at each other in disbelief. _"A guy who beat up Laxus couldn't even land a hit on the tall guy?" _Mirajane was the first to break the silence,

"We need to inform Master as soon as possible. If he finds Luffy with Master, everyone will be in danger. Warren, we need your power." Warren nodded and started running towards the door.

"Good. Now you guys." She turned her head at Franky and Chopper.

"Us?" Franky asked.

"Yes, you two. We need you to come with a few of us and search for your friends. I'm sure we can find a solution as to how to get you back to your world, but for now we can't wait for Master to come back. We need to get to them first. Warren will be our contact with them."

"What do you mean, he will be our contact?" Chopper asked.

"Warren's power is telepathy. We will be able to talk to each other through him." Mirajane explained and started walking to the door. "Cana, Elfman. You are with me."

A huge guy stood up from one of the chairs. His hair was spiky and white, just like Mirajane's, but he had a large muscular figure and a serious look. Once he got up, he was the same size as Franky.

"Oh, I see you got some big guys too. Your name is Elfman, correct?" Franky asked with a smirk. The big guy spoke,

"Yea. You are Franky, nice to meet you."

"Hurry up; we don't know how much time we have." Mirajane was almost at the door. The other four hurried up to catch up with her. Chopper was back in his reindeer form, and was leading the group. He caught up with Mirajane pretty fast, just as she opened the door.

"So, how should we look for them? Our friends I mean?" "We just have to spread and try the best we can. If we encounter the tall guy again, we have to stall him as long as we can. Until that man returns at least." Chopper was confused,

"That man? What man?" A small smile escaped Mirajane's lips as she continued to keep a serious expression, "The only person that can deal with the tall guy. Fairy Tails strongest wizard."

"Ehh?"

Chopper couldn't even imagine a person like that. It seemed like these guys were as used to fights as they were. The three remaining members of the group finally caught up. They were now going around the large building, and starting to go down the side of the hill. Franky noticed something.

"Oi, look there in the sky. Is that normal to be happening?" Everyone raised their heads and stopped in their tracks. In the distance, above a part of the forest there was a small black cloud. The sky was completely clear and yet, a single part was left in shadow. Mirajane opened her eyes wider and took a step back.

"I know what that is. Damn it! Warren! Warren! Did you reach Master and the others?" Franky and Chopper looked at each other with a confused look.

"Umm, who are you talking to?"

"Oh sorry, I forgot to add you to the link. Mira, I'm almost in range to contact Master. What is so urgent?"

Franky and Chopper were more than surprised when a voice in their head began talking, but Mirajane didn't care.

"Warren, tell Master that they need to hurry and come back. It seems we are in more danger than we thought. It's not just the man who visited the guild, there is another enemy here!"

"Another enemy? Who is it Mira?"

"It's the demon worshiping cult…"

The rest of her sentence was cut off by what happened next. The black cloud suddenly fell to the ground. The earth beneath it was darkened by what they now finally realized were blades that pierced everything in the area.

"Mira, what is it?"

"The Void Cult! They are here also!"

"U-understood. I'll inform the Master." Warren answered and there was silence once again.

Mirajane turned around to speak, but Franky spoke first.

"What is this cult you spoke of?" Mirajane widened her eyes and spoke,

"Now it makes sense. I think I know how you guys got here."

"Really? So you know how to get us back too?" Chopper was suddenly excited.

"No sorry, I just know how you got here. The Dark Guild, Void Cult. They have been always trying to summon demons into this world."

"Eh, demons? So they worship the demons and try to hand over the world to them? What a bunch of idiots, they are gonna be wiped out with the rest of humanity." Franky commented.

"No, you got it wrong. They do not summon demons because they worship them or anything. They summons demons," Mirajane paused for a second before continuing,

"Because they harvest their bodies and their powers and add them to their own."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4: The Void Emerges

Luffy was running as fast as he could through the forest. He smashed anything that was in his way, crushing through the trees and jumping over the debris. The pressure in his chest squeezed his heart. _"Zoro's presence disappeared too fast! Something bad has happened, I gotta hurry!"_

"Boy, wait! We don't know what is ahead!" Makarov was flying at high speed after Luffy, while evading the debris from Luffy's mayhem.

"My friend is in trouble! Like hell I'm gonna wait." Luffy screamed while throwing a punch and obliterating a huge rock in front of himself.

Large stone chunks flew everywhere, while Luffy was moving on ahead without stopping. Makarov raised two fingers and swung them to the side. The chunks stopped mid-air and dispersed, letting Makarov fly through. Luffy continued to burst through everything without stopping. Eventually he managed to see Natsu and Gajeel as they were carried by Lilly and Happy. Luffy charged forward and yelled,

"Oi! What do you see? Guys?"

Natsu couldn't hear him, as he was struck by what he saw in front of him. The small field in front of them was completely covered in dark blades and swords. There wasn't a place in the field where on could step without getting cut by the sharp metal.

"What in the hell happened here? I hope there wasn't anyone here when this happened. Then again, this looks too much like a battle field…" Natsu started scouring the area. There were numerous cuts and slashes all over the ground, and on one side of the field, a couple of dozen of trees were cut clean and lying on the ground.

"Salamander, be careful. This isn't ordinary magic." Gajeel could smell the evil coming out of the metal blades. There was a strong dark aura covering the field, and Gajeel assumed he was the only one who could feel it.

"Oh, you can sense something, Gajeel? Well I guess it's natural, you being an Iron Dragon Slayer and all." Natsu commented. "Still, this is too suspicious. For something like this to happen so close to the Guild…"

Lilly was trying to figure out what might have caused this, but his track of thoughts was interrupted by Happy,

"Natsu, look! On the left. There's someone there."

The gang turned their head to where Happy pointed. At first they couldn't see anyone, but then they realized what Happy noticed. Natsu widened his eyes in shock, and said,

"Happy, Max Speed! That isn't good!"

"Ay sir!"

Happy yelled and accelerated at an incredible rate. Gajeel and Lilly quickly followed, and as the gang flew at great speed, something emerged from the trees. Luffy charged from the trees, at the same place they were headed while jumping on the blades.

"Eh? He's pretty fast." Gajeel muttered to himself and raised his head. He could finally recognize who was on the ground. There were two girls lying on the ground, one of them looking really familiar.

"Hm? Salamander, isn't that Mira's sister, Lisanna? Salamander?" Gajeel looked at his guild mate, who kept looking in front of him.

"What is it? Why are you...?" Gajeel turned his head back and finally noticed.

He was repulsed by what he saw. A man was bent over the girls. The reason they didn't notice him was because his back were completely impaled by the black blades. Below him, a puddle of blood was formed.

"How, how is he still standing?" Gajeel managed to speak.

They flew for a few more seconds and landed next to the group on the ground. Luffy arrived at the same time as they two Dragon Slayers and stopped to look at what was going on. His eyes widened and his face revealed something they did not yet see. Fear and desperation. He took a step forward and screamed,

"Zoro! Nami! Are you guys okay?"

He ran at them, his legs receiving a good amount of cuts and tears from the blades that were sticking from the ground. He reached Zoro. The swordsman was barely standing, still clinging to his katanas. Blood dripped from his body on the floor, his entire back full of holes. Luffy didn't even know what to do in order to help.

"Zoro? Are you awake? What happened?"

"I-I'm sorry, Captain." Zoro barely muttered. Natsu and Gajeel were shocked. _"He is still conscious?"_

"I lost. Even though I swore that I will never lose again."

"Forget that, we need to get help! Oi you two, do you have a doctor in the guild?"

Natsu and Gajeel didn't answer immediately as they were still staring at Zoro. His hand trembled and legs shook, but he still stood. With the amount of blood he lost it was beyond human.

"Oi, you have a doctor?!" Luffy yelled again.

"No, we don't. But we have something better. Happy, go and get Wendy as fast as you can."

"Ay sir" Happy answered and took off at the direction of the forest.

As soon as he dropped out of sight, Makarov caught up with Luffy. He looked like he was going to say something, but after seeing the scene in front of himself, he couldn't open his mouth.

"What in the…?" He looked down and noticed the white haired girl. "Lisanna. Are you okay?"

Lisanna was awake, but she couldn't move. She stared at the person bleeding above her and held onto Nami's arm tightly. She finally spoke,

"Y-yes Master I'm fine. But he… this guy is…"

"Happy went for Wendy, he should be here soon." Natsu said and grabbed Lisanna and Nami and got them up. Nami was still unconscious, and Natsu and Nami held her straight.

"She doesn't seem to be hurt, but I can get her to wake up." Lisanna said with a shaking voice. Luffy just stood there, holding Zoro, but looking at Nami.

"Oi, what's wrong with her? Is she okay?"

"I think I might be able to handle this." Makarov stepped forward and flew in front of Nami.

He did a complex move with his hands and pointed two fingers at her eyes. They shined brightly with a golden light for a few seconds, and went dark again. At first, she opened her eyes a little, and then she opened them completely.

"Are you okay girl?" Makarov asked. "I think so. I think my head is going to explode. Where am I?"

Nami looked around and noticed Zoro and Luffy. She screamed when she saw the state Zoro was in. She shook off Natsu and Lisanna and ran forward, pushing Makarov aside.

"Zoro! What the hell happened to you? Are you okay? And where the hell were you Luffy?!"

She bombarded them with questions, until Zoro started coughing blood. Luffy grabbed him firmer since he began to slide down on his feet.

"Oi, Zoro, you okay? Nami, did you perhaps find Chopper? We need him!"

"No, I and Zoro were ambushed. But who could do this to him?"

"Happy! Hurry!"

Natsu suddenly yelled. Luffy and Nami turned their heads to where he was looking at. They could see a cat flying towards them, and another one carrying a small girl.

"Heh? Who's that Luffy?" Nami asked.

"It's a girl that is with these guys that helped me. But how is she going to help?"

The girl and two cats finally landed. Wendy took one look at Zoro and has a horrified expression on her face. She has seen all kinds of injuries, but this was on a completely different scale. She barely muttered a couple of words,

"But… how is this..?"

"Wendy, get it together. This guy doesn't have a lot of time." Natsu tried to get her on track but was pretty shaken by Zoro's appearance himself. The second cat that arrived with them spoke,

"Wendy, you can do it. You need to have more confidence"

"You are right, Charle." Wendy swallowed up her disgust and fear and approached Zoro. She couldn't bear to look him in the face, and stared at his chest. A large scar which was there led her to believe that this person was through a lot of difficult battles.

"Oi, is this a joke?" Luffy snapped, making Wendy flinch a bit. "We need a doctor, what is she going to do?"

"She is the only one who can help him now" Natsu slowly replied. "Have faith."

Luffy growled a little, but Wendy paid no attention to him anymore. She raised her hand and placed them in front of Zoro.

"Heal!"

She was bathed in a bright green color and the air around her began to swirl around her. Her small hands were glowing brightly and so did Zoro's body. The blades on his back began to evaporate in a dark black dust and disappear in the air surrounding the two of them.

Zoro never felt something like this before. He could feel the pain leaving his body. His vision was still blurry and he was having trouble standing, but that was reasonable due to the blood loss. Still, he could feel the wounds slowly closing and the blades disappearing from his back. He collapsed to his knees, now at eye level with Wendy. She continued to heal Zoro, whose back were still ripped apart. After a minute or so later, Wendy stopped her spell. Zoro was no longer bleeding like he did when they got to him, but he was still badly injured. Luffy was amazed by what he saw, but still had to ask,

"Oi, why did you stop? He's still hurt."

"I know, and I am sorry. I am still not very good at this since I'm young and I don't have much power yet, but I gave it my all so he should be…"

The rest of the sentence was cut off since Wendy closed her eyes and began falling to the ground. Everyone was surprised and tried to catch her, but she was too far. Then she stopped. The rest stood frozen and watched as Zoro reached out and caught Wendy from falling down. He held her while still looking in front of himself.

"Thank you, little girl. I will not forget this." Zoro said those words, even though it was clear to everyone that every word gave him pain.

"He is still really bad, we need to get him back to Porluska' s house." Makarov broke the silence. "Right. Happy, Lilly, take him back as fast as you can. We'll follow on foot."

"Ay sir." The two cats picked the wounded Zoro, and Charle took Wendy and they were soon gone from everyone's sight. Makarov turned to the two that were left. Luffy kept looking to the ground, while Nami was looking at him.

"Luffy…"

"Old man, do you think the attack on my friends and us coming here is connected?"

Makarov raised an eyebrow slightly curious,

"Yes I do believe this is a possibility. Why do you ask?"

Luffy raised his head. Nami immediately recognized the look in his eyes. It was the face she knew well. The face of pure anger and determination, the face he showed every time one of his nakama was hurt.

"Because I'm gonna beat them up." Makarov saw that Luffy was resolute about this.

"In that case, we are going to give you a hand." Natsu said simply

"Eh, Salamander? Why do you say that?" Gajeel asked.

"When we got here, that guy protected something precious to us all. He covered for Lisanna when this all happened. Am I right, Lisanna?"

Natsu looked at the girl beside him. Lisanna's eyes were looking into Natsu's as she answered,

"Yes, I tried to save the orange haired girl over there, but I got carried away and… if he didn't jump in front of them…"

"You saved Nami?" Lisanna looked at Luffy who was approaching her. "Thanks, I owe you a lot."

Luffy smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. She slightly curved her lips and made a smile, but her eyes were still filled with sadness. Makarov observed the entire conversation and couldn't believe,

"You are amazing boy. Even with you friend on deaths door, you still try to find a way to help those around you."

"And anyway, what were you doing here Lisanna? I told you to wait for me back there." Gajeel addressed Lisanna with a strict tone.

She looked at him and answered with a confident tone,

"I saw someone in trouble and I went over to help. Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same."

"Anyway, we need to regroup back at Porluskas house. If your friend was attacked this close to our Guild, it means these guys are not scared of us. We should be careful; they might be back, but with more people." Makarov finished his speech and started going back towards the forest. Everyone else followed him without a word.

Luffy stood behind and was looking where Zoro stood. He glanced down at the puddle of blood on the floor. Finally he touched his hat, turned around and starting walking with everyone.

* * *

><p>Bagram was having trouble walking up the stairs. He was still bleeding from every wound on his body. <em>"Damn swordsman. And that bitch. I can't believe I let my guard down that much…"<em> He was almost at the top of the stairs. The large door was slightly open and he could hear a voice coming from the room. It was the Teacher's voice, and Bagram was suddenly feeling anxious. _"How am I going to explain this to him? I was supposed to snatch one of them and bring them back, not starting a meaningless fight and losing…"_ Bagram got to the door and opened them.

There were a lot of people in there, but some of them were not people at all. Four large monstrosities were chained to the walls and left completely immobile. The body of the beasts was also covered in chains and the hands were completely covered with some kind of handcuffs. Their faces were completely covered with a large metal mask and the only visible parts of the monsters face were the eyes. The eyes were red, with snakelike pupils that instantly moved at the doors direction when Bagram walked in. The rest of the room also took notice of his arrival. They all turned around to take a look at him. All of them wearing identical robes and hoods.

Bagram wasn't happy to have such a large audience when he gave his report. He walked slowly to the center of the room trying to stand up as much as he could. He looked straight in front of him, at the figure sitting in the chair in the middle of the room.

The figure wore a large purple robe, also with a hood. His hand was covered with strange rings that had runes inscribed in them, while the letters were slowly glowing and turning dark again.

"Where is the thing I sent you for Bagram?" He asked. Bagram instantly stopped. He didn't expect that the Teacher will be so pissed.

"Well, there were complications, Teacher. There was this swordsman and…"

"Excuses again… this entire day I have been getting nothing but excuses. First Andreal and the rest come back without their prey, now you come back without yours. And all carved up like an animal. What happened? I told you to avoid the Fairy Tail members. You alone can't stand against them, as can neither of you at the state you are in now."

"It wasn't a Fairy Tail member, Teacher. It was one of the targets. One of those that crossed worlds today accidently." The figure in the chair moved their head in surprise.

"You were defeated by the outsiders? Are they strong?" Bagram was seeing a break. If he gives Teacher enough information, maybe he won't be mad…

"Yes, well one of them was. The girl I grabbed didn't seem dangerous at all. I managed to put her out with a Sleep Spell. But the other guy, the swordsman… He was strong." Bagram smirked, "But it doesn't matter now. I killed them all. We can just go back and retrieve another…"

The figure rose from the chair suddenly and made Bagram stop talking. He slowly walked down towards Bagram who was not sure what was happening. When the Teacher reached Bagram, he simply spoke,

"You killed them?" Bagram felt sweat on his face,

"Y-yes. I killed them all since I couldn't bring them back. This way they can't tell anyone…"

"You killed them!?" Teacher reached out and grabbed Bagram's throat. He squeezed hard and Bagram was again cut off mid-sentence. "You worthless idiot. Do you know what we can do with a strong individual? The pressure to the reality would be much greater once we focus their life energy correctly. We might even be close to my, our ultimate goal… And you killed them?"

Bagram's feet left the ground. Teacher lifted him of the floor and was holding him by his throat. Bagram was slowly choking but didn't move a muscle to try to stop his attacker. Teacher held him for a few more seconds before letting him fall to the ground. He turned around and went back to the chair. He took a seat and grabbed his forehead with his hand, massaging his head. No one said anything until the Teacher spoke again.

"Still, we don't have much option. We will have to go and retrieve the outsiders. But if they all popped up around Fairy Tail Headquarters, it will be impossible to just stroll in and grab them."

He started slowly chuckling while he finished the sentence,

"It seems the time to take down Fairy Tail has finally come. Bagram, go and get those wound taken care of. I want you ready to go by dawn."

"Yes Teacher." Bagram relived as he bowed down and made his way down the room towards the door. At the same time, he felt another emotion, excitement. The thrill of the hunt. And it seemed that he will be given orders to eliminate a lot of people. The thought of it brought a smile to his face again as he left the room. The door behind him shut, and another figure in a hood spoke,

"I don't know why you keep him around. He is only good for killing, but you can find a good person for that in this room anytime." The tone in which the figure spoke showed lot less respect and fear than when Bagram spoke to the Teacher. He seemed irritated in a way.

The Teacher turned his head and answered,

"I know, but a brute like that is handy to have. Like you said, I can find a replacement for him anytime, but still is useful to have a bloodthirsty beast like that. If anything he's disposable." Another figure stepped out and addressed the Teacher,

"How will we assault the Fairies? A head on attack would be enough to wipe them out."

"That's a foolish way of thinking. I'm sure that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Fairy Tail. Single handedly taking down the Barram Aliance, now that's a feat to be admired. In order to take out Fairy Tail successfully, a well devised plan is needed. But then again, we are not going to destroy them. Not yet that is."

"What do you mean, Teacher?" The figure asked again.

"We can take care of the Fairies after we complete the goal. After we take enough outsiders, that is. There should be enough of them to fuel the ritual. Now to tend to the other matter. Andreal."

Teacher turned his head to the first hooded figure that spoke to him,

"You were stopped by some Fairy Tail members? I want a detailed report on their powers. Also you will be leading the ground troops that will capture the outsiders."

"Very well and how do you propose we take hunt them down while fighting off Fairy Tail members at the same time?"

"You won't be fighting Fairy Tail at all. You will go in there quietly and snatch our targets while the chaos erupts in the town of Magnolia." The others looked at each other in surprise.

"What kind of chaos are you talking about?" Andreal asked. The Teacher laughed,

"Haha, you will see Andreal, it will be amusing to say the least. Now, we still have preparations to make. I will call you again when they are done to give you precise orders. Now leave, all of you."

The group of hooded figures bowed down simultaneously and started walking outside. When the last one of them left the room, Teacher sighted,

"After so many decades, it is finally within my grasp. I will finally have the powers of the Council…"

The air itself began trembling. Teacher unleashed his energy from excitement and the beasts chained to the wall moved for the first time. They tried to get even closer to the wall as they wanted to burry themselves inside the solid stone, just to get as far away as possible from the person sitting in the center of the room.

The group that left the room was slowly splitting apart, going left and right as they went down the stairs. In the end, only two were left. They walked for a while until a female voice cut the silence.

"So, are you going to seek out the ones who disrupted our mission this morning?" The other figure didn't say anything. A large bulge on his right shoulder started moving and the fact that the claws that were sticking out from his robe began clenching showed his anger pretty clearly. The female laughed silently as they kept walking down the stairs. The other one finally spoke,

"I will do what Teacher orders me. My wishes have nothing to do with this."

"Mmm, so you are irritated by it, aren't you? How rare to see you show any emotions at all. Still I guess I can understand that. The genius, who never failed a mission, now got taken in by a boy from that guild."

"You got held off too, didn't you?" It seemed he struck a nerve. The woman in the robe slowed down a bit as they were walking and now hurried up to get next to his partner.

"I never said that. I just didn't feel like going all out. Than the ritual would also be in danger."

"I know that. Still, we should wait for the Teacher to finish his plan. After that, everything will be taken care off."

The woman laughed again and added,

"Yes I suppose you are right. Teacher might be short tempered, but his plan has no flaws. The power, and the world, will be ours…"

They reached a large hall. At the other side, a large number of people were seated in front of rune inscribed cubes that were rotating as the men moved their hands. They moved the stone inscribing with their fingers and the cubes changed colors to their will. They duo walked up to the only person standing.

He was not wearing a robe like everyone else, but instead was wearing a suit of armor. The armor was simple and metallic, without any decorations on it whatsoever. On his side he had a sword in his scabbard, and was observing the work of the underling in front of him. His hair was short and brown; his face showing signs of stress and was concentrating on the movement of the cubes. The woman noticed that he wasn't aware of their presence and called him out,

"Surgat, Teacher wants us to move out in the dawn. Have everything ready by then."

Surgat never moved an inch nor did he bother to turn his head.

"Everything is working perfectly. No malfunctions or problems have occurred. We will be ready when ever Teacher wishes for us to depart." The other two were simply standing there when he finished talking, not sure how to respond to such a monotonous report. They moved after a few seconds and started walking towards the door at one side of the room. Once they were far away from Surgat, the woman spoke again,

"He really is an odd one. I heard he doesn't sleep at all, is that true?" The other one answered,

"Yes, it is true. It seems he was a sole survivor of the Keern Empire. Teacher took him in when he was just a child and raised him like his son. Or maybe a puppet is a more precise term. Do not offend Teacher in front of him. Ever. His power is on a whole different level, even if he is not compatible at all, unlike the rest of us."

"Oh, I always thought he was the Teachers favorite so he gets to stay behind and never go on any missions. I barely spoke to him a couple of times. And what is the Keern Empire? I never heard of it."

"That's because it was destroyed completely years ago. It is on the other side of the world, so it is not unusual for you to not have heard of it. Even I don't know why Teacher was there to begin with…"

"The entire empire was destroyed? How is that possible?"

"Nobody knows. The city was decimated to the ground and thousands were killed. Teacher said he found him in the middle of the destruction, covered in blood and his cloths half burned."

They reached the door and the woman stopped. It seemed she wasn't going to go through, or at least she was hesitant to go through them.

"I think I will return to my room. I want to be rested before meeting that girl again."

"The one you fought before? You mean Titania?"

"Hmh, such an outrageous tittle, Titania. I will deal with her myself. She insulted me in front of the Teacher."

With those words she turned around and quickly walked away. The other person watched her as she left and grabbed the doorknob.

"It looks like time has run out on you Fairy Tail. Will you be able to stop the power of the Void Cult and the Teachers sorcery? Or will the world be built anew from the flames of the Void?"

He opened the door and went through, disappearing in the shadow.

* * *

><p>Mirajane was running back to the guild building. She rushed through the door and ran as fast as she could towards the stairs. She ran up jumping over stairs on her way. She finally reached the room she was looking for. She slammed on the door as hard as she could. She could hear the creaking sound of the bed and footsteps. The door slammed open and Laxus came out of the room with a pissed of expression on his face. He was going to say something but then noticed Mirajane's face. He stopped himself and asked instead,<p>

"What happened? Is everyone okay?"

"Laxus… Master… We have a problem…" she uttered while heavily breathing.

"Problem? Master? Mira what the hell is happening? Did the guy that was here before do something?"

Mirajane finally got to her breath again and began explaining,

"It's not just him. We have a bigger problem, Laxus do you remember the Void Cult?"

Laxus's face changed instantly. He grabbed his coat from the chair in the room and stormed out.

"Follow me, Mira. Talk while we go, we need to get in touch with that old geezer immediately."

"I know, I already sent Warren to inform everyone. Laxus, could they be the ones…?"

"Yea, they were the ones Erza and the rest stopped this morning. Damn, we were too careless. And these Dark Guilds keep popping one after the other…"

They were almost to the door at the end of the dining hall. At that point a voice started talking in their heads.

"…Now of all times? What is up with this timing? Never mind, get in touch with Laxus; we will need to stay alert from this moment on."

"Gramps, I'm here. It seems Warren got to you."

"Oh Laxus, you're there. Good, listen to me." Master sounded relieved, "They are going to come for these guys again. We are coming back to the guild, I need you to go ahead and inform him of the situation."

Laxus was confused for a moment,

"Him? Who is he?"

Mirajane answered instead,

"Gildarts is coming back today, remember? Master wants him here in case there is an attack."

"You gotta be kidding me? That guy comes and leaves as he pleases. Just cause he sent a note saying it's gonna be today doesn't mean anything. He could be days away from Magnolia!"

"That's why we need you to go and get him. Aside from Jet, you are the fastest here. If Gildarts is somewhere close to town you need to go get him here. It should be easy, that guy never hides his presence. He figured people who can read his power would just leave him alone that way…"

Laxus sighted and decided to go with Makarovs plan, but he wasn't happy about it,

"Okay, I'll go and try to find him. But what if Void Cult comes while I'm away? You will be even more vulnerable."

"Don't worry about that, I have all these brats here to cover for your absence. Now get going."

"Right, I'll see you when I see you, Old Man."

Laxus bursted open the door of the guild, and in a flash of lighting, he was gone. Mirajane could only follow his movement for a while as he flashed over the buildings, and then he was really gone.

"Mira, prepare a room. We have… injured people coming in."

"Injured? Master is everyone okay? Lisanna went with Gajeel to the forest is she..?"

"I'm okay, Mira we are with Master."

Mirajane was relived. For a second she feared she would have to go through the pain of losing her sister for the second time. She shook of the dark thoughts and continued,

"Master, Void Cult has never been encountered before. The few members that were captured by the Magic Council committed suicide before giving away any information. Their strength is unknown, their member's faces and names are unknown, and their headquarters location is unknown. The only thing that everyone knows is that their master is referred to only as the…"

"Teacher. Yes I know all about the information the Council has gathered." Master took a deep breath and continued, "There are some things that I know about their master that the Council refused to take as an important fact since their motives and actions are not important and to say the most, petty crimes. However, that man is dangerous. He must be perceived as a worthy enemy, and I don't want anyone to take this as a joke. Mira, I know you understand. The demon powers they use, it is too similar to your Satan Soul. You felt it. You know how corrupted and twisted that Magic is."

"I know Master. What do you want to do about the Guild's defenses?"

"Nothing yet. Wait for my return. They should not be up to anything funny with the Guild if their goals are Luffy and his friends."

"Understood Master. How many injured are coming?"

"Only one but it is bad Mira. Also Wendy is not feeling so well. She used up all her Magic Power. She will need some rest too."

"Oh Master, I almost forgot. Luffy is there with you?"

"Yes he is. Is there something you need to tell him? Warren, link us up would you?"

"Yes, Master, give me a second. It is harder with people without any Magic inside them."

After a few moments a new voice popped into Mirajane's head.

"What do you mean she is gonna tell me? I can't wait that long! We can't even see the town!"

"Luffy, do you hear me?" A moment of silence was interrupted by screams and some strange noises, "What? I can hear her, but I can't see her? What's up with this?"

"Luffy I'm talking to you through your mind. That's how you hear me. Now just think and I will be able to hear you…"

"Meat"

Mirajane was puzzled.

"Meat?" "Umm, Luffy? What did you say…?"

"Meat. Bull meat. Sea King meat. Roasted meat. Sanji's meat. Meat…"

"Oi, stupid Captain! Stop thinking about your stomach for one second would ya?!" Franky suddenly yelled into everyone's heads. Luffy immediately snapped back,

"Ooo, Franky you are okay? Where are you?"

"I'm at the town, waiting for you with the fairy guys. I got Chopper with me here as well."

"Luffy! You are okay! I'm so glad…"

"Chopper! Good thing we found you. We need you to be ready when we get there. Zoro is in trouble." The mood was instantly changed. Chopper's voice was more urgent and nervous,

"Zoro? You found Zoro? What's wrong with him? Is he okay?"

"No, he has been beaten up pretty badly. Just get ready to patch him up. We might be in more trouble than we thought."

"Luffy we have more problems. Kizaru was here."

"Kizaru! The Admiral? Damn, then they fell through as well. Oh well we got Gramps here already so I guess Kizaru won't hurt us maybe... Ouch!"

Luffy yelled from pain at the end of his sentence. Franky's voice followed,

"Luffy what's wrong? You okay?"

"Ouch! That hurt you stupid old man! Oh it's nothing. Gramps is here too, I told you."

"Gramps? As in your grandfather, Garp the Hero? How is that nothing you idiot?!"

"I'll explain when I get there. Chopper, get ready. Franky you too, there might be a lot of trouble ahead. I got Zoro, Nami, Brook and Robin here with me. We still need to find Sunny, but we first need to take care of Zoro."

"But what about Sanji and Usopp?" Chopper asked.

"Don't worry. It's Sanji we are talking about. They will be fine." Luffy reassured Chopper and they could even hear him laughing.

"Supeeer leave it to us, Luffy!" Franky ended the conversation.

Mirajane was standing outside the Guild Headquarters. She looked down the street. The town of Magnolia was as calm as ever. People were running up and down the street, doing their business as usual. She clenched her fist and felt a pressure in her chest. The Void Cult. The very sound of it gave her chills. The Magic she felt earlier was made for nothing other than killing and it made her feel sick. Even if she shared the same power with them, she knew they had to be stopped. _"They can't be let to do as they please. They are finally coming out of the shadows and we must stop them here."_

"Mira, I had Warren link us up separately from the rest. Are you okay?" Masters voice in her head gave her the comfort she needed. As long as she had Fairy Tail, everything would be okay.

"Yes Master, my thoughts just drifted somewhere. I am okay, you don't have to worry."

"I know you can feel these guys much earlier than anyone else can, since your powers are linked in a way. I will need you to keep an eye out for any surprises. I'm sorry to be asking this of you."

"I understand Master. We must be ready. But the guy from the other world that was here earlier…"

"Do not worry about him. One man can't pose a larger threat than the situations we have on our hands. Just take care, Mira."

"I will Master. You take care too."

She once again looked at the sky. "_What is their goal? If they seek to summon the demons and creatures from the other worlds, what kind of evil will they let loose in this world. And if they manage to subdue them, what harm will they bring to the world?"_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5: The Demon Heart

Sanji still wasn't sure why this suspicious character led them this far without telling them any details. They almost ran all the entire day, but fatigue wasn't on Sanji's mind at all.

"When are you going to tell us where we're going, Jelal?" Sanji finally demanded to know.

"We should get there in a few moments, it's just up the volcano"

"Volcano!? You didn't say anything about a volcano! I can't go there" Usopp immediately objected the idea. Jelal was confused and turned around,

"Why can't you go there?"

"Well, you see I have this rare Can't-Go-Anywhere-Near-Volcanoes-Disease and…"

"Don't mind him," Sanji commented while lighting another cigarette, "But still, why are we going to a volcano?" Jelal continued to talk while still running,

"A while ago, the volcano was active. The neighboring village was always able to sense an eruption and get prepared for it. But lately, it went silent. The volcano that used to sprout smoke and ashes on a daily basis is not cold and dead. The time frame when this occurred was too close to when I began tracking down the Void Cults headquarters. So I believe they moved it…"

"Inside the volcano? But how the hell is that possible? You can't just move a building so easily." Usopp commented. Jelal continued his explanation,

"They were able to bring you guys here from another world. Do you really believe they are unable to move an entire building to another location?"

Sanji and Usopp didn't have an answer. They knew there were all kind of people living in their world and what they were capable of, but this seemed a little far-fetched. They were running up the side of the volcano. Sanji immediately noticed the size of it. It was ridiculously small. The volcanoes on the Grand Line that they had the opportunity to see were much bigger. Sanji spoke again,

"Um, how is this active volcano, it's no bigger than a hill?"

They were almost at the top and Jelal wasn't answering. Sanji waited for a few more moments, but Jelal was still silent. Just as he was going to ask him again, they reached the edge of a volcano. There was nothing unusual about it, but Jelal approached the gaping hole in the middle and pointed down,

"Now do you see?" Sanji and Usopp cautiously approached Jelal and looked down.

The abyss was endless. The volcano was too deep for any sign of ground to be seen. Jelal explained while the two looked at the hole,

"This volcano might not seem big, but it goes down there for miles. Many expeditions were sent down there but no one managed to deduce just how deep it is. The volcano never erupts fully, since the magma can't reach the top. Only the aftermath of the eruption reaches the top, and that is why people can live so close to it safely. But for such a thing to occur like going dormant in a matter of days is too suspicious." Sanji stared down and began measuring their options.

"So if we were to attempt to go down there, we might either get burned by the magma, if your theory is incorrect. But, if you are right we might end up in the enemy's base. Either way, it's a stupid idea to go down there. So I ask you again, why did you bring us here?" Jelal looked Sanji in the eye,

"Your friends are in danger as we speak. The Void Cult will come for them and attempt to use their bodies to summon something from the world of fire and destruction."

"What?! So why are we staying here then?! They could come for us any time they want, not to mention that they might get our friends! We need to find them and regroup, now!"

Usopp began yelling at Jelal as loud as he could, but Sanji didn't say a word. He lit his cigarette and slowly blew a ring of smoke from his mouth.

"I see. Fine, we'll do it your way. Usopp, let's go. We need to rest."

"Ehh? Rest? Sanji have you lost your mind? What about Luffy and… I mean Nami and Robin?"

"Read between the lines, Usopp. What Jelal meant to say is that the abduction of our friends is necessary, am I right?"

Jelal didn't answer immediately. He looked at Sanji for a while and finally smiled a bit,

"Correct, but not completely true. There is a trick, that part is true. But there are two options actually. Your friends are currently with the Mage Guild, Fairy Tail, which is the strongest guild in the land of Fiore. I know that to be a fact. In case of the Void Cult's attack, they will certainly lend them a hand. Meaning your presence there is not important. If Fairy Tail manages to protect your friends at the moment of the attack, we have the upper hand. However, if they managed to defeat Fairy Tail, they will bring your friends here," Jelal pointed at the hole behind him, "That's where we come in. We can wait for them to return, and launch a counter attack immediately when they least expect it. We will be able to hold them off for a while until reinforcements arrive."

"But, if you know the location of their base, we can all come here and bust inside. Why do we have to go through such a risk?" Usopp was still not clear about the plan.

"It's simple. We can't get in since we don't know how. We need to wait for the Void Cult to either go outside while I sense them out, or catch them off guard when they come back…."

Sanji stopped Jelal as he tried to continue, "Be honest with him, you don't care what happens with our friends. You just want to know how to get in their base and stop the summoning, am I right?"

Jelal wasn't struck by this. He smiled again and observed Sanji more. Then he talked again,

"I am sorry if you feel deceived, but the evil they wish to bring to this world will destroy us all. Even if we stop them from grabbing your friends, there are many ways for them to complete their goals. The only way to stop them from trying it again in the future is destroying the Orb."

Sanji and Usopp exchanged confused looks.

"Orb? What Orb?"

"The Orb of Keern. A powerful artifact that makes the spell that allowed you to come here in the first place. If we are to completely shut down the Void Cult, the Orb must be destroyed." Jelal answered

"So you decided to sacrifice our friends live to get inside and destroy a rock? Also, if the Orb is destroyed, how the hell are we going to go back?"

"The spell that transferred you here can be used without the Orb. As a matter of fact, they are used constantly. The Void Cult activates the portals to summon creatures from other worlds to this one. They then add the powers of the beasts to their own. However, the thing they are trying to summon can't be brought here using such a simple portal. They need the Orb, and an enormous amount of Magic to open it. But using your friends, they can lower the Magic needed, and complete the summoning easier. And no, I am not sacrificing your friends' lives. I am merely using them as bait." Jelal finished his talk, only to have Usopp scream again,

"Bait? You gotta be kidding me! Sanji, please let's go and try to find everyone…"

"Okay, we'll stay with you." Sanji announced and began walking back down the volcano. Usopp was left with his mouth open mid speech and a shocked expression on his face.

"Sanji!"

"No use, Usopp. We are already too far away, not to mention we have no idea where we are. We will stick with his plan for now. Besides," Sanji grinned while he was taking out a cigarette out of his pocket, "You don't think Luffy would love to have a piece of this?"

Usopp instantly knew he was defeated. Luffy would be thrilled to be a part of the action, and Usopp could see the excited look in his eyes as he breaks down some rock at the bottom of a volcano… Sanji lit another cigarette and took a puff. He looked back at Jelal,

"What if we don't succeed?" Jelal was also beginning to walk back, and was taken by surprise by Sanji's question.

"What do you mean?"

"If you don't manage to destroy the Orb. And our friends are taken, and the ritual is completed. What then?" Jelal continued walking, and as he passed Sanji answered,

"Then it's over"

Sanji didn't expect such an answer. He watched Jelal as he walked down the volcano and thought him. _"He is far from weak. So what is he so afraid of?"_

Sanji and Usopp followed Jelal down. No one spoke a word until they were almost on the ground. Usopp broke the silence,

"You mentioned a village somewhere near?"

"Yes, we are headed there now. We can find a place to rest there." Usopp made his peace with the plan they were following, and was now trying to make it through it alive,

"Good. We also need to come up with a plan of some kind. By the way, how are we going to know what's happening? How are we going to know if the Void Cult won or not?"

"I have a partner that is working with me. She is currently with another Fairy Tail member, and we are coordinating to stop the Void Cult. However, this plan was made in haste once certain circumstances came to light. I mean, of course, about your arrival to this world. So, not all Fairy Tail members are familiar with this plan. No, truth be told, almost no Fairy Tail members are familiar with it. Still," Jelal glanced at Sanji one more time, "You seem quite capable. Maybe you might be useful when the time comes."

Sanji grinned and Jelal noticed. On the other side Usopp also smiled, and Sanji talked,

"Don't worry, Mr. Wizard. When the time comes we will show you how the Straw Hats are useful in a brawl." Jelal wasn't sure what to think. _"He certainly is a formidable ally. Back then, he evaded my attack while I was using Meteor. Not only that, he actually managed to land a hit on me. And by the sound of it, he isn't the strongest of the bunch."_

They were almost to the bottom of the volcano. They could see a few houses behind the tree line. Usopp lowered his goggles down and observed the village.

"I can see people down there. Seem like an interesting place. And they really can sense when the volcano will activate?"

"Yes, it is a skill they learned while combining some Magic Spell along to raise their hearing. Only the elder members of the community are capable of this, since they train themselves their entire life."

"I see. They must have lived here for a long time. But why are they living here? Couldn't they find an easier place to live?"

"The earth and the ground here are not always, how should I say, normal. The place they live is extremely fertile and the nature blooms much faster and a lot more than anywhere else. It must be the volcano. The energies of the earth are affecting the ground around it and…"

"You mean the volcano is magical?" Usopp interrupted Jelal,

"Well, put simply, yes. But the correct answer would be…"

"Wow, a magical volcano"

Usopp was done with listening to Jelal's explanations. They kept walking to the village. There was a small stream on their path, and they could see a small girl running alongside the stream.

"Oh she must be from the village. But why is she running?" Usopp once again lowered his goggles and tried to see what's happening. The girl was running really fast towards the village, and looking over her shoulder. Usopp followed the direction where she was looking at, but Sanji shouted, making Usopp lose focus,

"Usopp, start shooting. It's bad."

Sanji started running, and Usopp finally saw what Sanji sensed with his Haki. Huge, bearlike creatures were running after the girl from the forest.

"Those are Night Beasts. For them to be awake during the day something must have made them really angry. They are dangerous." Jelal began raising his hands, but Usopp stopped him.

"No, you wanted to see if we were useful? Well, here's a little opening act." Usopp pulled his Black Kabuto from a harness on his back, and aimed at in front of him,

"We are not the members of the future Pirate King for nothing, you know?"

* * *

><p>Andreal was sitting in a room and tapping the table with his fingers. His robe and hood were set aside on the bed and his face revealed. He was a man in his thirties, with a handsome and mysterious face. His hair was tied in a tail that went little bit lower than his half of his back, and was currently staring at the door, as he was expecting someone. On the table, a dozen papers and documents were scattered, filled with drawings of Magic Circles and incantations. Suddenly, the door slowly started to open. Andreal stopped tapping his fingers on the table and pulled his hands closer together. With no noise at all, a hooded figure entered the room and closed the door. As soon as the door closed, Andreal drew a Magic Circle in the air with high speed movements that couldn't be followed with eyes. The Magic Circle started moving in the air and eventually turned into a miniature version of the room they were in. It then suddenly expanded and connected to the walls and the ceiling of the room and sunk into them. Andreal spoke first,<p>

"We cannot be heard now. Not even he can break this spell that easily. Were you followed?"

The other figure took of their hood. It was a woman in her late twenties, with long white hair braided going down her back. Her ears were pointed, and her fangs were slightly larger than normal. She had grey eyes, and was inspecting the room like she was searching for something. She finally found what she was looking for on the table behind Andreal. She smiled instinctively and went to the table. Andreal raised his hand and cut her off,

"I asked you something. Don't think you can play around with me like you do with everyone else." She was still looking at the papers on the table and answered,

"No, I wasn't followed you paranoid freak. Now let me see those."

She had a harsh tone, but Andreal still lowered his hand down. She picked up a few sheets from the table and was now inspecting them.

"So, when can we do this? I have waited for this chance for years. I'm not going to let Lejak take the next A Class we catch. Just because he has a couple of more percent of compatibility than me…"

"I told you this can help, but you know there are risks to this. Bagram, Oriax, and Laricia are currently the only ones with the Devil inside of them and thus capable of using the Devil Arts, apart from Teacher and me. Lejak is the next in line to become a vessel for the Devil Powers because of one simple reason; he is stronger than you and that's a fact, Alyse."

"He is not stronger. He is just annoying. Anyway, I did what you asked." Alyse responded while still looking through the papers. Andreal smiled and relaxed in his chair.

"Good, Alyse. Soon, we will be ready to move. Just one little thing remains…" Andreal stared at the wall for a few seconds with a pleased expression on his face, until Alyse interrupted him,

"So how are you going to stop Teacher again? He is kinda out of everyone's league, not to mention that weird guy he has in charge of the cartography room, Surgat was it?"

Andreal moved his eyes just for an instant to look at Alyse, and continued to stare at the wall while explaining,

"He is still human, even with all the artifacts he has collected over the decades. A head on battle would mean suicide. But, at a certain moment, he will be vulnerable. When we gather the outsiders and he commences the ritual, he will be in a state similar to a trance. His mind will still be conscious of his surrounding, but his body will be unable to react. I will take him out then, while you and Lejak keep Surgat in check. After I complete the ritual and claim the Archdevil Powers, he will be a powerless lump of flesh in front of me. Now all that remains is for Teacher to give the Devil Powers to Lejak, and…"

"And for me to gain mine from you."

Alyse finished the sentence while absorbed into the diagrams of Magic Circles in front of her. Andreal glanced at her once more, but this time he kept on observing her. _"She is sharp. Lejak is an idiot, but she might prove to be a problem. I hope she doesn't find out before…"_ His track of thoughts was stopped by Alyse,

"Oh, and can we do this before dawn? I want to use these new powers to assist the Teacher when we attack Fairy Tail." Andreal sighted and started massaging his temple,

"We have been over this already. You have to suppress your Devil Powers in front of the Master. He will realize something is up and that's the end. We will be crushed by him and the rest of the Cult."

Alyse put down the papers and was looking really frustrated. She turned around and started walking towards the door.

"But still, it can be done by dawn you know?" Andreal's words made Alyse stop and look at Andreal over the shoulder,

"Really?" Andreal barely managed not to smile. _"Even if she is smarted than Lejak, it looks like she is also the greedier one."_ Andreal kept a straight face while answering,

"Of course, and I will need you tomorrow. Once those three and I gather the outsiders, Teacher will want to start opening the gate as soon as possible. Lejak and you will be in charge of stopping Surgat and not let him through until I complete the ritual." Alyse was now smiling again,

"What you actually mean is that I can test my Devil Powers tomorrow; I just have to be more patient?" Andreal smiled back to her

"Exactly my point, Alyse. I just need one more little thing before we start. The demon we have acquired in the last hunt is now caged, and Teacher will soon start the process of transferring the powers to Lejak. He will most likely do it in the central hall. You need to go and be present until it's done." Alyse was confused and her smile was slowly fading,

"Why do I have to do that?"

Andreal stood up and raised his hands with his palms pointed at him. On the floor, several glowing shapes began to appear and connect to each other,

"Because it takes some time to activate the transfer circles. And I will be using a great deal of Magic Power for this so there is a chance that he might sense me even during the ritual. I need you to take this," from the top shelf, a small cube flew and Alyse caught it, "And simply drop it as you enter the central hall. The spell in the cube is connected to the one I cast on this room. It will prevent Teacher from finding out what I am doing. And do not forget to pick it up later. If he finds it…"

"Okay, I understand. Sheesh, you never shut up" Alyse was frustrated as she turned around and left the room." Andreal was left alone, and he began concentrating on the job at hand,

"It seems it is finally time for you to step down and let me take over, father"

Alyse was pacing fast down the hall; still annoyed by the task she was given. _"I have to be in the same room with that moron while he receives the Teachers' gift. This is really too much."_

She walked past rooms where only screams could be heard. After a while she found herself in front of the large door that led to the central hall. She stopped before opening the door, reached in her robe and dropped the small cube in the corner of the door. The cube immediately started to pulsate with a faint, flickering green light. Alyse was relived. She wasn't sure what to do if the cube malfunctioned, since Andreal didn't give her any instructions concerning that matter. _"Or maybe, he was so sure that his little spell would work…?"_ Alyse finally reached for the door. She pushed them open and saw that most of the high ranking members were gathered.

With his hideously large right arm that was still visible under his robe, Oriax was standing on the right side of the room alone and was staring at the middle of the room. On the other side of the room, Alyse saw the third member of Andreal's team from that morning; Laricia. She has taken her hood off this time. A woman in her thirties, with black hair and a grey face was leaned against the wall and smiling while observing the middle of the room, just like Oriax.

Alyse knew there were side effects to embracing the Devils Powers, but the two examples in front of here were truly monstrous. Laricia had pointed teeth and red eyes, and next to her leaned on the wall was her weapon. The blades that were forming a crescent moon around the pole were at least thirty centimeters long and a strange dark purple shadow was slowly moving across the edge of the blade. Alyse walked deeper into the room, heading towards the center. She noticed Bagram standing in front of her, making it impossible for her to see what is going on. She got closer and noticed that Bagram's wounds were almost gone. He was standing straight and was looking rather excited. He was breathing faster than usual and didn't even notice Alyse when she walked past him. When she got past him she could finally see the center of the room. She froze in place and stared at the middle of the room.

A person was kneeling on the floor in the middle of the Magic Circle. He was a skinny young man, with messy white hair. He was trying to catch his breath when he suddenly stopped and turned around. Alyse frowned when their eyes met. He had an extremely drained face and reddish eyes. He smiled the moment he noticed Alyse.

"Welcome Alyse! I am so glad you can be here to watch this. So tell me Alyse; how does it feel to be number two? Again…" Alyse gritted her teeth.

"Keep provoking you little bastard. I will not tolerate you for long…"

"Silence you two. Or I will silence you."

Alyse looked up. The Teacher was sitting in his armchair and was now glaring at Alyse and Lejak.

"You think you can simply throw a tantrum in front of me because of your little disputes? And at a time like this?"

Alyse felt the hair on her neck started to rise and she quickly dropped down on her knee and bowed in front of Teacher,

"I'm sorry, Teacher! That was disrespectful of me, and it won't happen again."

"I am sorry also, Teacher."

Lejak was, like Alyse, bowing in front of his Guild Master. Alyse wasn't surprised; no matter what issue it may be, Teacher's word was final. Even arrogant people like Lejak knew that.

"Get up you two. I will not let this pass the next time. Be sure of that."

Teacher's voice was cutting into their mind like blades. Alyse was sure she wouldn't forget the Teacher's warning, but she wasn't sure if it was caused by some spell, or simply by fear? She slowly got up and tried to avoid the Teacher's eyes. Instead she observed Lejak. She was sure he had obtained the Devils Powers, but there were no signs of his body undergoing any changes. Alyse found this weird, but didn't want Lejak to notice that she is interested.

"So, Alyseee," Lejak spoke first, "Do you want to know how the Devil Powers are obtained?" Alyse was surprised by the question.

"By drinking the blood of the beast. Why do you ask me this?" Lejak smiled,

"No, no, no. You see, that is how you got your little powers. Obtaining the real Devil Powers requires consuming something else," he pointed above himself and continued, "In order to obtain the true form and extent of the Devil Powers, one must consume the Heart of the Demon."

Alyse looked in shock the figure above Lejak. A demon was chained and was floating above them. His chest was cut open, and Alyse widened her eyes even more. Lejak just grinned and continued,

"Didn't see this coming, oh dear sister?"

* * *

><p>Zoro slowly began to regain consciousness. The pain was present, but it wasn't what he was expecting. His memory was also a bit blurry, but he definitely remembered being pierced by that man… Zoro opened his eye. He noticed he was in a neatly set up room, in a comfortable bed. While he was observing the room, he saw something that brought his attention. A small, childish figure was standing on the chair next to him, and was mixing up some herbs and liquids. He immediately recognized the one that was always with him after the battles.<p>

"Chopper…" Zoro managed to mutter. The figure stopped what he was doing and looked at him. Then, it began to cry

"Zoro! I was so scared. You were all bloody and we couldn't wake you up and, and…" Zoro tried to get up, but Chopper protested,

"You are still far too weak to move Zoro. Please stay in bed for a bit longer.

"Luffy."

"Eh?" Chopper tilted his head.

Zoro managed to get up and looked at Chopper,

"I am glad you are okay, Chopper. I was careless. I almost got Nami hurt. But I have to talk to Luffy. Where is he?"

Chopper knew too well not to argue with Zoro in this matter. Being a doctor, Chopper witnessed many times Zoro's tenacity. So much in fact, that he began questioning if he was even human.

"Alright, but just for a second. He is outside with the rest of us."

"The rest? You mean, it's not just you?"

"No, Franky, Brook, Robin, Luffy and Nami are outside. Sanji and Usopp are still missing." Chopper waved his head.

Zoro let a smirk escape his lips, "That cook is up to something again, huh? And Usopp is with him most likely. That's good. It means no one encountered those guys yet."

Zoro got out of bed. The pain was not bothering him that much. He glanced at his katanas that were leaned on the wall in the corner. After a bit of hesitation, he went at picked them up.

"Now Chopper, let's go. I need to talk to that stupid Captain of ours."

They walked out of the room and found themselves in a long hall. Zoro walked slowly, while Chopper was next to him, carefully observing his movement. Even though he was with Zoro when he was wounded even more seriously, Chopper noticed that Zoro was a lot less energetic this time. _"The wound is almost healed up thanks to that girl, but why do you look so… defeated, Zoro?"_

The duo passed the long hallway, and went through the door at the end. They entered the Fairy Tail main hall. There were a lot of people sitting in a group and Zoro felt tension in the air, but at the same time he felt some kind of relaxation when he approached the people in the room. _"Something is up. This mess has just only started. I need to inform Luffy."_ 7

"Whaaaat? You can make ice out of nothing? That is exactly like Aokiji's power. Man was he strong."

Zoro immediately recognized the voice of his Captain. It seemed he was sitting in the middle of the group of people. Franky was sitting at the bar talking to some huge guy with white hair. Nami was busy examining the request board and was writing something down on a piece of paper. Zoro also noticed her eyes, which changed into money again. Brook was sipping some tea and was talking to a girl drinking a barrel of booze. He laughed and leaned down to ask her a question, only to get hit over the head with the barrel. _"That idiot. He's gonna get himself killed one day. Although he is dead already…"_ Robin was nowhere to be found, but Zoro just figured she was doing research about this world. Chopper decided to attract the attention of the room on them.

"Luffy, Luffy! Zoro is awake!" Everybody went silent and turned around. Zoro felt dozens of gazes on himself and he could hear some muttering. Then he noticed it through all those people. A straw hat was slowly rising from the crowd.

Zoro smiled, "Good to see you in one piece, Luffy."

"Oi, Zoro, are you okay? You had us really scarred there."

"Yea, I'm good. It wasn't that serious to begin with…"

"Like hell it wasn't. Seriously, what are you?"

The voice came from a guy with long black hair and some strange metal rods that were stuck in his face. Zoro looked him in the eyes. Then he smiled.

"I remember you. You were there with that girl, weren't you? And that pink haired kid also."

Zoro quickly inspected the rest of the people in the room and couldn't think how similar they were to them. There were old and young, strong looking ones and weak looking ones. The ones who protect and the ones who needed protecting.

"Anyway, Luffy," Zoro changed his tone and was more serious now, "I need to talk to you about this situation. This might be a bigger problem than we originally expected. It seems there are some people after us here and…"

Luffy lowered his hat a bit on his head and spoke, "I know, I also got some information I need to bring you up to speed with…"

Outside of the Guild Headquarters, Makarov was sitting on a rock and was looking at the town of Magnolia. His face showed almost no emotion at all. The wind made his thick mustache sway gently and his hand was clenching his staff. He didn't move until he heard someone calling him,

"Master, are you okay?" Erza was walking from the direction of the Headquarters accompanied by Wendy, Charle and Lucy.

"Oh, yes I am fine. I was just remembering an old friend…"

Erza raised her eyebrow, "An old friend?" Before she managed to inquire further, Master spoke,

"But forget that for now. What do I owe the pleasure of being visited by you ladies?" Erza's soldier instinct kicked in,

"Yes. The man who saved Lisanna, he has awoken. He is currently talking to Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats inside. I tough you might have some questions about the man he fought." Makarov sighted and closed his eyes.

"And the preparations?" Erza answered in a monotonous tone she used when talking to Master,

"Everything has been done as you requested. We are proceeding as planned. But Master," Erza was not sure if she should finish the sentence, "Are you sure about this? If you made a slight miscalculation, the plan won't work." Makarov smiled,

"Do not worry about that Erza. Wendy and Lucy," the two girls jumped a bit when their names were called, "What do you think about those guys?"

Lucy wasn't sure what Master meant, "You mean the Straw Hats? Well I am not sure yet, but I know one thing. Luffy reminds me so much of that person, so I believe we can trust them."

Wendy spoke in her usual, insecure voice, "The man I saved thanked me. He seems scary and all, but I do not feel now evil or darkness from them." Makarov just laughed,

"That's good. It means my senses haven't dulled in my old age. Lucy was right." He looked at Lucy and continued, "That boy really does resemble Natsu in so many ways."

Lucy just smiled and stared at the floor. Makarov continued his conversation with Erza,

"And how is our patient now? I would love to talk to…"

"The patient was discharged from your care. And the name is Zoro. Roronoa Zoro."

Makarov and the girls turned around to where the voice came from. A green haired man, with a scar over his eye and three katanas was approaching them. Behind him Luffy, Natsu and Gray were following. Makarov could not ignore the amount of scars on the man's body. _"A seasoned warrior and such strong willpower. He gives off a completely different energy than his Captain."_ Makarov turned completely and faced Zoro,

"Good to see you on your feet. I am Makarov Dreyar. Guild Master of Fairy Tail." He slightly bowed his head, "You have my gratitude for saving Lisanna."

Zoro never changed his expression as he answered, "It's nothing. Besides that little girl saved my life too, so we're even."

"That's right, thanks again, Wendy!" Luffy yelled behind Zoro and was now walking towards Makarov. "Old Man, you said that they are going to try again? The ones that attacked my friend and brought us here." Luffy's face was more serious now. Makarov looked at him and answered,

"Yes I am positive that they will not give up. More so, they are now somewhat aware of your strength and will not take any chances. They will come for you with all they got. Alone you will never be able to escape. But, "Makarov placed his hand on his chest and continued, "We of Fairy Tail will lend you our power and knowledge and help you return to your world. Our enemy is a Dark Guild, Void Cult. I… happen to know their Master."

Makarov ended his sentence with a sad face. Everyone around was stunned by this information. Erza spoke first,

"Master how is that possible? There is so little information on the Void Cult, and we even possess the information we get from Jelal and…"

"No one else is aware of this. The man they call Teacher, is called Gabriel. A long time ago, before I became the Master of Fairy Tail I was… a friend with him. He was a genius like I have never seen. He was incredibly talented and hardworking, desperate to know more. He uncovered many ancient spells and incantations, collected numerous Magical artifacts. But little by little, he became obsessed by gathering more power. He began researching demons. And it seems he found a way to gain the powers of the demons. Tell me, Roronoa Zoro," Zoro raised an eyebrow when Makarov suddenly addressed him, "The man you fought with… Did he release his true form?"

Zoro didn't understand what the old man was saying,

"What true form? He looked normal, aside from that weird ability."

"I see. Then maybe I was wrong." Makarov said the words, but no one believed him. His face revealed more than he thought.

"It would just mean that they found a way to control the demons inside them much better. Isn't that right Master?"

The voice came from behind them. Mirajane was standing behind them nervously gripping her hands. Makarov sighted and got up. He stood and looked at everyone around him before speaking again,

"It doesn't matter how powerful they are or what their objective is. We will do this our way, the Fairy Tail way."

"Oh, now you are talking, Old Man," Natsu declared while the temperature around him was getting up, "We are going all out, right?"

"Calm your head down fire bastard." Gray commented, and the land around him began to freeze over slowly, "You are not the only one who wants to pay those guys back."

Zoro was immediately able to calculate their strength. _"So you are the one who protect, huh? That's good…"_ Luffy raised his head and revealed his smiling face,

"Good, good. We have some strong allies this time. Although I don't think we will need the help, eh Zoro?" He gave Zoro a strong pat on the back.

"Guah!"

Zoro almost lost his balance. His face shoved pain while he was trying to straighten his back.

"Zoro, oi! You okay? Your wound haven't healed yet?" Luffy tried to help his crewmate, but Zoro shoved his hand aside.

"I'm fine. I just need some rest." Zoro turned around and started walking towards the guild building.

"They will come at dawn, Old Man." Everyone gazed at Zoro with surprise.

"How do you know? Did the one that attacked you and Lisanna tell you that?" Lucy yelled after Zoro." He barely turned his head around as he responded,

"No, call it an animal instinct." He walked away leaving everyone in a state of confusion.

"Animal instinct? What did he mean by that, Luffy?" Wendy asked in her nervous voice.

"It means that they will be coming at dawn like he said." Luffy tilted his straw hat as he continued,

"And we will be waiting for them!"


End file.
